Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney- The Ten-Year Turnabout
by DeraldSny
Summary: During a Halloween Party at the Lowee Basilicom, Rei Ryghts reminisces about a mock trial and ten-year-old case that put her on the map as a lawyer... (Mild Warning: OC-Heavy)
1. Prologue

It's another Rei Ryghts story! This one is a 'prequel' of sorts, taking place some time before 'The Mech Suit's Turnabout', hence, the 'Rookie' in the title. Hope you enjoy!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Prologue

 _October 31, 5:49 PM_

 _Lowee Basilicom_

 _Reading Room_

It was time for the annual Halloween party, and by drawing of lots, Lowee had been selected to be the venue for the CPUs to celebrate this year. All the Hyperdimension CPUs were in attendance, save Uzume, who had stated that 'costume parties aren't really my thing.' The nations' Oracles had also remained at their respective Basilicoms in order to 'hold down the forts', so to speak. As for Lowee's Oracle, Mina Nishizawa, she and Financier were handling the catering for the party.

And there was one more guest, who probably wouldn't have been invited had the party been held anywhere other than Lowee, but deep down was quite flattered to be invited in the first place...

Rei Ryghts sighed as she adjusted her red business jacket, before checking to make sure her fake left horn was properly secured. She'd been invited on such short notice that the only costume she could throw together was going as a 'demon lawyer from hell.' Fortunately, Rom and Rom had dressed up as little demons themselves, and quickly established themselves as her 'evil legal assistants'. Which was quite fine with Rei, as she felt this would hopefully inoculate her from any pranks the two might've had planned...

 _"Aughh!_ Help me, Reeeeiii!" Neptune suddenly ran towards the trio and hid herself behind them. She'd gone as a vampire, with white face-paint and fake fangs, dressed in a dark-purple variation of her parka dress.

"From what...?" the lawyer asked as she looked forward, seeing Nepgear dressed in a witch's costume. "I-it's just your s-sister..."

"Look what she's holding!" Neptune cried as she cowered on the floor. Sure enough, the CPU Candidate was holding the bane of her sister's existence in one hand.

"Yes, cower in fear!" proclaimed Nepgear. "For I am... the EGGPLANT WITCH! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Your evil laugh isn't very scary..." Rom observed.

"Yeah, you should take lessons from Rei herself," Ram deadpanned.

As for the lawyer in question, she took a defensive stance as she prepared her index finger... "Take one more step, worm, and I slice that eggplant in half!"

"Don't you dare, Rei!" Blanc shouted from the other side of the room. "Or else you'll be cleaning the eggplant out of the carpet yourself! Ah-AH- _CHOO!"_ she suddenly sneezed, knocking her fake mustache off. "Dammit... I should've gone as anyone other than a plumber..."

"It's your own fault, for being unable to think outside the box," Vert taunted.

"Says the one who just dressed as her 4 Goddesses Online avatar!" Blanc shot back.

"Don't worry Neptune, I'll save you!" Uni's voice suddenly spoke up... then an arrow with a plunger end came out of nowhere, knocking the eggplant out of Nepgear's hand! The 'witch' turned to see her fellow CPU Candidate, dressed in a angel costume, and holding her bow out with a triumphant smirk. "Bulls-eye! You lose, eggplant witch!"

"Grrr!" Nepgear shook a fist in faux anger. "Nice shot, angel... but I'll be back! And next time my eggplants will be... ORGANIC!" With that, she subtly tapped on the screen of her mobile device, causing a scare-chord to play as she retreated.

 _"Pheeeewww..."_ Neptune breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks a lot, Uni! I owe ya one!"

 _"Uni!"_ Noire scolded, dressed in one of her many cosplay costumes. "What have I told you about discharging firearms indoors?!"

"B-but, Noire, it's just a bow and arrow!" Uni stammered. "And the arrow didn't even have a pointy end on it!"

"You still could've put someone's eye out!" her sister retorted. "After all, you don't have much experience with a bow, even with your sniper's eye...!"

"Now, now," Vert cut in, "I think you've gotten your point across, Noire... and besides, Uni was just trying to help a friend."

"Y-yes, and she s-saved me the t-trouble of c-cleaning up eggplant f-from the c-carpet," Rei added as she walked up.

The Lastation goddess heaved a sigh. "Fine, I'll back off for now. But this had better not happen again!"

"I-I understand," Uni assented with her head bowed.

"Y'know, Rei..." Neptune spoke up, "Seeing you dressed like that, it kinda makes me think about how people around here musta seen you when you were first starting out with your lawyering career and stuff... I mean, sure, you got me off on assault charges, but..."

"I-it wasn't easy," the former final boss admitted. "I had a l-lot of t-trouble g-getting anyone to hire m-me at first, e-even when my b-boss put in a g-good word for me... but, there was a case I soon got involved in, which ended up putting me on the map, so to speak..."

"The Peterman case, right?" said Blanc. "I'd only read about it in the paper, but that was damn impressive, nonetheless..."

"How so?" Vert inquired.

"I'm kinda curious, too," Noire spoke up.

"Maybe you should just tell the whole story from the beginning," Neptune suggested.

Rei gulped at being put on the spot so suddenly... "O-Okay... everyone g-gather around a-and sit d-down, p-please..." This the goddesses did, Vert quietly retrieving the fallen eggplant and rolling it away, drawing a grateful nod from Neptune as she and Nepgear sat next to each other. "W-well, it actually began when a f-friend of m-my b-boss showed up at th-the office one d-day..."

 _*Two years ago...*_

 _March 20, 1:43 PM_

 _Civil Court_

 _Courtroom No. 2_

"O-Objection!" Rei grunted, slamming her fists on the bench for emphasis. "Ms. Dorothy Glover, m-my client d-did not k-kill your d-dog, and I can p-prove it!" Said client, Jake Dockson, was a caretaker that had been hired by the plaintiff to care for her beloved Corgi when she was busy, and had been sued for an insane amount of money.

"Then who?!" the large, elderly woman demanded. "Who killed my darling baby bunky bumber boo?!"

"YOU did!" Rei pointed at Ms. Glover. "You t-testified th-that you fed your C-Corgi a bunch of ch-chocolate before leaving f-for the day... but a d-dog's digestive system c-can't handle chocolate very well, especially in s-such a l-large amount! You may as well have f-fed him p-potassium cyanide!"

"Wh... wha..." Glover gaped in disbelief. "It was... me?" She then abruptly threw her head back, clutching in her hands as she let loose with a long, mournful wail. "NOOOOOOOO! My darling! My baby! I didn't know...! I'm so sorryyyyyyy!" She collapsed over the plaintiff's bench, sobbing and begging for forgiveness. At this, Jake Dockson threw up his hands as if to say, 'Finally, someone points out the obvious!'

Rei felt her heart twist with sympathy at the elderly woman's emotional breakdown, before taking a breath to clear her mind. "Your Honor, at this time..."

"No need, defense," the judge sighed. "Ms. Glover, your case is hereby dismissed. Judgement for the defendant." He then banged his gavel to signal adjournment.

"Thanks for the help," Dockson muttered as he and Rei exited the courtroom. "Can't believe I had to have an ex-villain defend me, but no one else wanted to stand up to that lady. Money talks..."

"S-speaking of money..." Rei spoke up. "Y-you are g-going to p-pay me, right? E-even villains have t-to eat, y-you know..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure you get paid," the caretaker sighed dismissively. "Don't expect me to hire you again, though, if I can help it..."

The former goddess winced at hearing this. (So much for asking him to put in a good word for me to his friends...)

 _March 20, 3:25 PM_

 _Samson & Co. Law Offices_

"You did good work today, Rei," Bartholomew Samson stated to his subordinate. "Don't let your client's attitude get you down. Besides, he did promise to pay you, at least..."

"I j-just hope you w-won't have t-to send h-him a letter t-to remind him, like the l-last c-couple of times," Rei sighed in despair. "I really wish p-people would s-stop staring at me l-like I'm g-going to k-kill th-them if I look at th-them the w-wrong way..."

"It's going to take time, Rei," Her boss reminded her. "After all, what you did wasn't exactly petty theft, even if you have no recollection of the event..." Just then the door suddenly slammed open, revealing a man dressed in a red business suit, with cobalt-blue hair and a pair of glasses over black eyes, an angry expression on his face.

"Well, well, if it isn't Bart Samson," the man stated in a scoffing tone of voice. "Still doing your best to get criminals off scot-free, are we?"

"Back off, Millhouse!" Bartholomew challenged as he stood to his full height. "Everyone deserves a fair trial, guilty or innocent! But all _you_ prosecutors care about is keeping up your perfect conviction record!" He marched up to the other man, standing a few inches taller then he.

"Oh yeah?!" the prosecutor retorted, not intimidated in the least.

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Oh _yeah?!"_

 _"Yeah!"_

"P-Please stop!" Rei cried out. "Th-there's no need t-to fight, is there?!" The two men looked back at her for a moment, before looking each other in the eye again...

...and suddenly bursting out into raucous laughter as they embraced each other jovially. "Looks like you still got it, Bart!" the prosecutor stated between guffaws.

"You too, Mike!" Bartholomew gasped out as he belly-laughed.

"H... huh?!" Rei gaped, her eyes shrinking to circles in disbelief at the sudden 180.

"...I think we broke your subordinate," Millhouse pointed out as the laughter finally died down.

"Ah, right..." the larger man grunted as he calmed himself down. *Ahem* "Allow me to introduce you, then... Rei, this is Prosecutor Michael Millhouse. He and I have been friends since junior high..."

"Oh... _OH!"_ Rei gasped in realization. "Th-then your f-fight earlier was j-just..."

"Yeah, we were just BS'ing with each other," Millhouse confirmed. "We used to do that all the time when we were kids..." Turning back to the former goddess, he put a hand to his chin as he eyed her critically. "So... Rei Ryghts herself, in the flesh."

"Y-yessir," Rei nodded nervously.

"You're... a bit smaller than I imagined."

"I-I was only t-tall when I w-was a g-goddess... b-but I c-can't do that anymore. And I d-don't want t-to, either..."

"Well, that's good to hear," Millhouse nodded. "Of course, I'm sure Bart wouldn't have hired you if he didn't think he could trust you on some level..."

"You know me, Mike," Bartholomew shrugged. "I believe that everyone deserves a second chance... even final bosses. She's already been a great help around the office, handling paperwork, cleaning the toilet..."

"Because there's no way you can bend low enough to scrub that thing, right?" Mike ribbed.

"Watch it, Millhouse. If I were to swipe those glasses off your face, you'd be stumbling around here like a blind man!" Bartholomew shot back.

"I'm not THAT near-sighted..." Millhouse sighed. "Anyway, I'm curious... how has Miss Ryghts handled herself in actual court cases?"

"Decently enough," Bartholomew said, "though she seems to get too easily intimidated sometimes... also, she's mostly been handling civil cases... apparently no one wants to risk hiring a former villain for more serious offenses."

"N-not to mention I have t-trouble even g-getting p-paid..." Rei sighed forlornly. "I s-still c-can't afford a p-place of my own..." She gestured to the visitor's couch, where a pillow and folded-up blanket were sitting nearby.

"You sleep in the office?!" Millhouse gaped. "You... you have my condolences, young lady..."

"I'm n-not sure 30 is th-that young..." Rei muttered.

"Well, you're still younger than me by about seven years," the prosecutor shrugged. "Anyway, the reason I came here was to give Bart's new employee- i.e. you- a chance to raise their profile, so to speak."

"R-really?" Rei gasped in mild disbelief. "H-how so?"

"There's a mock trial being conducted at my and Bart's old alma mater in about a week," Millhouse explained. "I have a protege of my own who attends that school, and he'll be acting as the prosecutor. Problem is, none of the other students are confident enough to go up against him as the defense... so, that's where you come in."

"B-but what if I c-cause a p-panic in th-the school?" Rei couldn't help but point out.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Mike chuckled. "I'll be sure to explain everything to the administrators beforehand... Also, I'll see if I can't have one of the security guards escort you while you're on campus. That should help put the students' minds at ease..."

"I c-certainly hope so," Rei sighed...

 _*To be continued...*_

As always, review!


	2. Mock Trial

And here's the next part! Hope you enjoy!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Mock Trial

NOTE: Think of music from the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney playing during this trial.

 _March 27, 11:39 AM_

 _Phoenix Law School_

 _South Hallway_

Rei wasn't sure if she should feel like a celebrity or a prisoner, being escorted by two large, burly men... one a security guard, the other being her boss... Still, it had the desired effect, as none of the passing students freaked out at seeing her, though there were quite a few stares and double-takes.

"Just stay calm, Rei," Bartholomew advised. "You're shaking like you're still out in the cold weather..."

"R-right," Rei took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. "I -just hope I d-don't make a fool of m-myself in f-front of th-the s-student body..."

"Hey!" One of the NPC students called from a safe distance. "Are you really _that_ Rei Ryghts?"

"U-ummm..." Rei hesitated nervously.

"Yes, she is, and no, she's not a villain anymore," Bartholomew answered for her. "She's here to participate in the mock trial as the defense."

"What?!" Another student gasped. "No way! She's gonna take Adam on?!" The crowd began to murmur at this.

"Well, _that_ shouldn't be too hard for you!" a female student declared. "You just have to do your _evil laugh_ and he'll be quaking in his boots!"

"I don't DO that anymore!" the horned woman protested. "I-if I'm g-going to win in court, I'm g-going to d-do it fair and s-square!"

A few students laughed at this. "Prosecutors don't _play_ fair!" another student stated. "Not in this nation, anyway! All they care about is 'guilty, guilty, guilty!'"

"Unfortunately, you are correct," a familiar voice spoke up, Michael Millhouse making his way through the gathered students. "At least I like to think I am an exception to that rule... and hopefully, Adam Prentiss will be as well." He then looked over the students with a critical eye. "And I would _hope_ that would apply to the rest of you future prosecutors as well!"

"Y-yes, Mr. Millhouse!" Several of the NPCs responded, standing at attention. Just then, the bell sounded.

"Oh, crap!" one of the students cried. "We gotta get down to the Lecture Hall!" The crowd promptly took off leaving Rei and her companions alone.

"Sh-should we be g-going too?" Rei asked.

Millhouse just shook his head. "We have a few minutes, Professor Justus is going to give a brief lecture before the mock trial begins. He's going to be acting as the judge, by the way. Anyway..." He shifted his stance. "The reason I came here was to inform you about the trial itself. It's based on an actual case prosecuted by my deceased mentor, Clarence Robarts, from about ten years ago. I'll be blunt with you, Miss Ryghts, in the original case, the defendant was found guilty. However, there's enough ambiguity in the evidence that the defense can make a compelling argument..."

"I-is that right..." Rei grunted. (Doesn't exactly make me feel better...)

"It'll be fine, Rei," Bartholomew reassured her. "This is just a mock trial, after all. Think of it as a learning experience, even if you do end up losing. That doesn't mean you should be giving up too soon, though..."

"R... right, I understand." The former goddess nodded. "W-well, let's g-get down th-there before th-the p-professor f-finishes his l-lecture..."

 _March 27, 12:05 PM_

 _Phoenix Law School_

 _Lecture Hall_

(Wow,) Rei thought as she looked at the large TV screens set up on the back wall of the brightly-lit hall. (It looks so futuristic compared to an actual courtroom...) She was brought out of her reverie by the professor banging a gavel.

"Order, order... settle down, students. This mock trial will now commence," stated the professor, dressed in a mock judge's robe, its black color contrasting with his head of white, curly hair. His black eyes looked over the benches as he adjusted his glasses on his slightly large nose. _"The People v. Paul Peterman,_ charge is murder in the first degree. Are the prosecution and defense prepared to proceed?"

"Th-the d-defense is ready, Y-your Honor... I-I mean, Professor," Rei stuttered.

"Adam Prentiss is ready to roll, Prof!" declared Rei's opponent, a young man with combed, short brown hair, though one strand stuck up in the air. He was dressed in a red suit so elaborate, it seemed to belong more in a stage play than a courtroom.

"Adam," Millhouse spoke up, standing next to the law student. "This is supposed to be a murder trial, where a person's life is at stake, not performance for a movie audience." His voice was calm, yet chastising.

"Urk!" Adam faltered. "I-I mean... the prosecution is ready, sir."

"Better."

"Very good," Professor Justus nodded, looking over at the defense bench. "Miss Rei Ryghts."

"Y-yes, Professor Justus?" the woman stood at attention.

"I trust you understand that you're here not only because all the other students deferred, but also because both Prosecutor Millhouse and Mr. Samson have put in a good word for you. You're here to set a good example for the students, so try to refrain from doing anything... villainous."

"Eep!" Rei squeaked, sweating slightly. "O-of course I w-won't d-do that, Professor! P-perish the th-thought!"

"Good," Justus nodded. "Mr. Prentiss, your opening statement, please."

"Yes, Professor," Adam nodded, picking up a sheet of paper. "Let's see... the murder took place around... 5 PM on July 7, in an alleyway not far from the local branch of Third Fourth Bank. The victim was Rich Clark, a bank clerk, 31 years of age. He was apparently shot dead in an alleyway that he used often as a shortcut to his home..."

 _"Apparently,_ Mr. Prentiss?" Professor Justus inquired.

"Uh... according to the police report... the body was never found."

"N-no body?!" gasped Rei, causing the crowd to murmur.

"Then how do you know that the victim was killed?" Justus pressed.

"A large amount of blood and two shell casings were discovered at the scene," the student prosecutor explained. "According to forensics, the amount of blood lost makes it highly unlikely that Mr. Clark lived to see another day..." He set his papers down to look at the professor directly. "It could be theorized that one of the bullets pierced the victim's aorta, which would've caused him to bleed out very quickly..."

"An excellent inference, Adam," Millhouse nodded in satisfaction.

"Professor," one of the students raised his hand. "What's the aorta?"

"The main blood artery of the body," Justus explained, "which passes over the heart from the left ventricle and runs down in front of the backbone."

(Wow, even I didn't know that,) thought Rei. (This Prentiss knows his stuff... no wonder he caught Prosecutor Millhouse's eye!)

"Moving on," Adam cut in, "There was a witness to the crime, which allowed the police to identify the prime suspect and take him into custody... a fisherman by the name of Paul Peterman. For his part he admitted being at the scene of the crime, but swore up and down that he didn't pull the trigger- he stated he didn't have a gun on him at the time, though he did admit to having a permit for a .38 caliber handgun- the same caliber as the shell casings found at the scene."

"Hold it!" Rei cut in. "A-are you saying the p-police never f-found the murder weapon either?!" The gallery began muttering at this.

"Unfortunately, you are correct," Adam nodded. "However, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. Your see, Mr. Peterman stated that he had gotten into his fishing boat and sailed out into the sea immediately after the murder- supposedly because he was 'freaked out' by seeing a murder in front of him. But the real reason is obvious!" He smacked his hand on the bench for emphasis. "The _real_ reason he took his boat out to sea... was to dispose of both the body AND the murder weapon!"

 _"Ahhhh!"_ Rei recoiled, causing the student's chatter to increase, forcing Professor Justus to bang his gavel to restore order. Had Rei been a more experienced attorney, she might have pressed her opponent on if any blood had been found on the boat... but as it was, she locked up like a blue screen of death.

"Also, there is more evidence making this man the most likely suspect!" Adam continued.

"And what would that be?" Professor Justus asked.

"One of the bullets actually passed right through the victim and embedded itself in the wall, which allowed the police to trace it's trajectory," the student explained. "From that, they were able to deduce the height of the shooter... someone less than 5' tall! And Paul Peterman fits that description!" The crowd began to murmur again. "On that note, I have two black-and white photos of the crime scene- one from the shooter's perspective, and one from the witness' perspective." He gave the photos in question to Millhouse, who walked over and gave them to the professor, who briefly looked them over before allowing the prosecutor to hand them to Rei.

*Crime Scene Photos added to the Court Record.*

The first photo, from the shooter's apparent perspective, showed a large bloodstain on the ground, with a small crack in the brick wall above that had been circled in red, labeled 'Bullet'. on the left side was a dumpster with a stuffed-full trashcan with a few manila folders poking out sitting on top, allowing only a small window of visibility between it and the wall.

The second photo, from the witness' perspective, showed that same dumpster now on the right side, with the bloodstain slightly left-of-center, the small crack where the one bullet had impacted also labeled. On the left side appeared to be an old clown toy of some sort.

"And thanks to these photos, I was able to reconstruct a rough diagram of the crime scene," Adam continued, pulling out a laminated drawing which was also passed to Justus, then to the defense's bench.

*Crime Scene Diagram added to the Court Record.*

"Over here, on the left is where the witness stood. The dumpster at the corner is in the center. In the center-right is where the bloodstain was found, and near the bottom is likely where the shooter was standing. Also, I should point out," the student indicated the bloodstain, "that the pattern of the blood indicates that the body was dragged in the direction of the shooter."

"U-umm..." Rei raised a hand uncertainly. "C-can I ask w-which d-direction the f-fishing port was from th-there?"

Adam just chuckled at this. "Nice try, Miss Ryghts, but I see what you're trying to insinuate. Yes, the port was in the direction the witness was standing, but it's very wide open and busy on that street. If the shooter had tried to drag the body in _that_ direction, everyone and their mother would've seen him!"

"O-oh, right..." Rei mumbled, blushing in slight embarrassment.

"Nice work, Adam," Millhouse nodded. "But don't you think it's time to call your witness?"

"I-I was just gettin' to that!" the prosecutor insisted, before clearing his throat. "At this time, the prosecution calls Dean Schmucker to the stand."

A minute passed... but no one appeared.

"I said, the prosecution calls Dean Schmucker to the stand!" Adam called again. Still no response. _"Trevor!_ That's your _cue!"_

"O-oh, rightright!" Another student quickly stumbled up to the witness stand, holding a large packet of notes in his hands. "S-sorry, I was waiting for _my_ name to be called, not the other guy's..."

"You ARE prepared to play your role, I would hope," Millhouse sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, got my notes right here! I'm ready to go!" the student insisted.

"OK then, witness, state your name and occupation," Prentiss instructed.

"Sure, my name's Trevor Turnaround..."

"WRONG!" The gallery promptly burst out in laughter as the student witness turned red with shame, Millhouse quietly facepalming.

"Order! Order!" Professor Justus gaveled the students down. "Mr. Turnaround, I would _highly_ advise that you get your act together! Or do you wish to lose points on your grade?"

"Ahhh! I-I'm sorry, Professor!" Trevor apologized. "Please give me another chance!"

"Then state your name and occupation, witness," Millhouse ordered sternly.

"R-right..." the student looked down at his notes. "OK... My name is Dean Schmucker, and I work in construction."

 _"Thank you,_ witness," Adam sighed. "So, you were the one who saw what happened to the victim, correct?"

"Th-that's right! Freaked me out to no end!" 'Dean Schmucker' nodded vigorously.

"Then would you please testify as to what you saw?"

"Yes, prosecutor!"

(OK, here we go,) Rei thought to herself. (Stay calm and focus...)

Reading from his notes, 'Schmucker' began, "I was just arriving at the bank at closing time. Actually, I was a little late because they just locked the doors. So I went around back, hoping to get a hold of one of the bank clerks. Sure enough, I saw one walking away at a brisk pace. I went after him and followed him into an alley... That's when he stopped and raised his hands in fear! I looked to my right and saw a small man carrying a gun! He said something along the lines of, 'this is what you get for screwing me out of a loan!' Then, BLAM-BLAM! The clerk collapsed in a pile of blood, and I ran for my life! I immediately went to the police and gave them my description of the shooter, which turned out to match this Paul Peterman guy!" He then raised his head up, indicting he was finished. "D-did I do alright? I didn't talk too fast, did I?"

"You did fine, witness," Prosecutor Millhouse assured him.

"H-hold it!" Rei slammed her fists on the bench. "Wh-what's this about being screwed out of a loan?"

"Simple, Miss Ryghts," Adam answered. "Mr. Peterman was turned down for a loan to buy a new fishing boat, at that very bank! So he decided to take his rage out on the first clerk he could find!"

"That sounds like a solid motive," Justus nodded.

(Urgh...) Rei thought to herself, sweating. (I'm starting to see why the defendant was found guilty in the original trial...)

"Now then, Miss Ryghts, please begin your cross-examination," the professor instructed.

"Y-yes sir," the former villain nodded. (Remember what Mr. Samson said... find something that doesn't match with the evidence...) Looking over the photos again, she noticed something odd... "Mr. Turn- I-I mean, Mr. Schmucker..."

"Y-yes ma'am?" the 'witness' stood at attention.

"I th-think you made an o-omission in y-your t-testimony..."

"I-I left something out?" 'Schmucker' began sweating.

"P-please take a look at th-this photo, taken f-from the witness'- that is, your perspective. H-how come y-you never mentioned th-the c-clown toy s-shown here?"

"Huh?! The clown toy? Uh..." Trevor started looking through his notes. "Uh, I don't see anything here about a clown toy..."

"Objection!" Adam interrupted. "Miss Ryghts, is such a silly little omission really relevant to this case?"

"His t-testimony was a b-bit vague!" Rei protested. "I'm j-just asking him t-to c-clarify a bit...!"

"Come on," Prentiss shook his head, "The whole thing probably happened in less than thirty seconds! The witness didn't have time to notice the clown toy!"

"B-but...!" Rei's response was abruptly gaveled down by Professor Justus.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to side with the prosecution on this one," the 'judge' shook his head. "Objection overruled. Next time, Miss Ryghts, make sure that you can back up your assertion! This would have gotten you a penalty in a real trial."

"Ahh! I'm sorry! So, so, so sorry!" the horned woman apologized.

"Do you have any other questions for the witness?" Millhouse spoke up.

"U-um, give me a minute..." Rei grunted as she looked over the photos again. (Wait a minute...) "Um, Mr. Schmucker?"

"What is it now, ma'am?"

"Y-you said you saw a s-small man c-carrying a gun wh-when you looked t-to your right?"

"Yeah, that's right..." 'Schmucker' nodded.

"B-but that contradicts the c-crime scene photo! Take another look!" She held up the photo in question. "There was a garbage can off to the right! Y-your view would been blocked off!"

"HUUUUUHHH?!" Trevor cried out, doing a 360-degree turn in place.

 _"Wha-?!"_ Adam gasped in shock, causing the gallery to start chattering.

"Oh my! You're right, Ryghts!" Justus blinked in surprise. "The witness' view would indeed have been obstructed...!"

 _"O-objection!"_ Prentiss cried. "Professor, take a look at the second photo! There is, in fact a small gap between the garbage can and the wall, th-the witness could have seen the shooter through there!"

 _"Objection!"_ Rei shot back. "It's a small gap! How could Mr. Turnaro- I mean, Mr. Schmucker have made a positive ID through such a small space?!"

 _"Ack!"_ The student prosecutor visibly recoiled. "M-Mr. Millhouse! I'm in trouble, here!"

"Calm yourself, Adam. A prosecutor should never show weakness," the spectacled man stated calmly. "Just because the defense found a small contradiction, doesn't necessarily mean your case has fallen to pieces..."

"Wh-what do you mean, 'small'?!" Rei asked nervously.

"Consider all the other evidence against the defendant," Millhouse explained, "The fact that only a man of his short stature could have killed the victim. The fact that he had a motive. And most importantly, the fact that he had a method of disposing of both the body and murder weapon after the fact!"

"Y-yeah, what he said!" Adam nodded vigorously.

"Urk!" Rei grunted, starting to sweat again.

"HOLD IT!" Trevor called out suddenly. "I, uh, have some additional details to testify about! I just found 'em in the notes!"

"Is that so?" Justus muttered with his eyes closed. "Were you not supposed to study those notes _thoroughly_ prior to trial today?" This prompted an _"Oooooooooh!"_ from the other students.

"C-come on, Professor! It's called stage fright!" Trevor insisted. "I'm sure I'm not the only one here who gets locked up in front of a live audience...!"

"...very well, I shall give you the benefit of the doubt this once," the professor conceded. "Now, please begin your new testimony."

"Y-yes, professor!" the 'witness' nodded. "Uh, so... like Miss Ryghts said, I wasn't able to see much through that crack, but I did see that the guy- the shooter, that is- had glasses on, and dark hair, and was wearing a brown jacket of some sort!"

"Consistent with Peterman's appearance," Millhouse stated. "The 'brown jacket' was most likely the raincoat he usually wore when he went out fishing."

"Also," Schmucker continued, "that garbage can the defense mentioned was full to the top, with some folders sticking out from under the lid!"

"OBJECTION!" Rei suddenly cried out with a dramatic pointer finger! "Your testimony is technically correct, but it still contradicts the evidence!"

"HOLD IT!" Adam shot back. "What are you talking about? The folders are plainly visible in the second crime scene photo!"

"But they are NOT visible in the first photo!" Rei pointed out. "Which, might I remind the court, is supposed to be from the _witness'_ perspective!"

 _"Gahhh!"_ Prentiss recoiled again.

"WHA-?!" 'Schmucker' gasped as he did another 360-degree spin. The gallery started muttering in confusion, forcing Professor Justus to gavel them down again.

"Might I ask what you're insinuating here, Miss Ryghts?" Millhouse asked calmly.

"Th-that... that the witness didn't view the crime from the place he said he did!" the former goddess postulated.

"W-well, in that case, where DID he see the crime from?!" Adam pressed, a little sweat on his brow. "How about you point it out for us on the crime scene diagram?!"

"Gladly," Rei nodded. "The witness was actually standing... right there! TAKE THAT!" She pointed to the bottom of the diagram.

"W-wait a minute, you're crazy!" 'Schmucker' protested, sweating. "That's where the shooter was standing!"

The horned woman gave an evil smirk. "Exactly."

 _"Noooooooo!"_ the 'witness' cried as he spun in place twice.

"Wait just a minute!" cried Justus. "Are you saying the witness is the shooter?!"

"OBJECTION!" Adam cut in. "You forgot, Miss Ryghts, that the shooter was someone who was _short_ in stature!"

"S-so how t-tall was Dean Schmucker?" Rei inquired.

"Quite tall, actually," Millhouse answered. "Over 6', in fact."

"Urk..." the lawyer grunted, her ego deflating like a balloon. The gallery seemed to groan in disappointment.

Professor Justus just shook his head. "What a disappointment... for a moment I thought the defense was actually on to something there." The student audience started muttering at this, the professor banging his gavel once to quiet them down.

"Come on, Prof," Prentiss sighed, "This case ended in a guilty verdict ten years ago. Why should today've been any different?"

"Th-thank goodness for that," Trevor let out his breath in a rush.

(But what about all the contradictions I pointed out?!) Rei thought desperately. (None of this makes any sense...!)

But just then, the former goddess recalled something Bartholomew had taught her. ("Remember, Rei, if you're at a point in the case where things don't seem to make sense, you should try to think outside the box, turn your thinking upside down.")

(Outside the box? Let's see... why would Trevor Turnaround- I mean, Dean Schmucker, lie about where he saw the crime from, if he wasn't the shooter? And why would he be standing at that spot if he wasn't- Wait, _that's it!)_

"Well then," Justus sighed, "since the defense appears to have no more inquiries, I shall hereby end this cross examinat-"

 **"OBJECTION!"** Rei Ryghts' voice echoed loudly throughout the lecture hall.

"What?! Y-you can't be serious!" Adam grunted in disbelief.

"I-I'm very serious!" Rei slammed her fists on the bench. "I j-just had to turn my thinking around. J-just because the witness was s-standing where th-the shooter was, doesn't necessarily m-mean he WAS the shooter..."

"But how does that make any sense?!" the student prosecutor asked insistently.

"Use your head, Prentiss!" the former goddess retorted. "It makes perfect sense if he was standing _next_ to the shooter!"

"N-next to the shooter...?" Adam grunted, sweating.

"Ah!" Millhouse's eyes widened the slightest bit.

"That's right! Trevor- I mean, Dean Schmucker!" Rei pointed dramatically. "I hereby accuse you of being the shooter's accomplice!"

"A-ACCOMPLICE?!" Trevor spun in place twice, causing the students to start chattering excitedly...

"Order! Order! Order!" Professor Justus banged his gavel several times. "There will be _order_ in the lecture hall!"

"OBJECTION!" Prentiss cried out in desperation. "B-but, Miss Ryghts, Dean Schmucker and Paul Peterman had no association with each other before this incident!"

 _"Exactly,"_ Rei smirked sinisterly.

"Huh...? ...AAAHHHHHH!" Adam recoiled as realization dawned.

"That's right, worm," the horned woman chuckled, "The shooter was in fact, not my client, but _someone else entirely!"_

"WH-WHAT?!" Justus gasped with wide eyes, setting the student body chattering again...

"Miss Ryghts," Prosecutor Millhouse interrupted, using one hand to subtly steady his shocked apprentice, "Paul Peterman already admitted that he was at the crime scene at the time of the murder. So if he was not the shooter, then where was he?"

"Simple," Rei said as she held up the crime scene diagram again, "He was actually standing right here! TAKE THAT!" She pointed to the left side.

"But that's where the witness was standing!" Adam feebly protested.

"That's right!" Rei agreed. "The problem is, we got everything backwards! It was _Peterman_ who was the witness, while Schmucker was the shooter's accomplice! Recall Schmucker's earlier testimony! He said that he saw the shooter through the small gap between the garbage can and the brick wall! But you see, it goes both ways! If the witness saw the shooter, then the shooter- or rather, his partner- also saw the witness!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!" 'Schmucker' whirled in place again.

"Argh!" Adam gasped, his face pale, holding onto the bench like it was a lifeline. "I-I can't argue that! Help me, Mr. Millhouse! Do something!"

"I-I...!" Millhouse was also sweating by now. "N-no-one's ever argued that there was a _third_ person at the scene of the crime...!"

At hearing this, Rei Ryghts felt something swell up within her... a force that seemed to briefly overtake her, causing her to burst into diabolical laughter! "HAAAA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!"

 _"Ahhhhh!_ Th-that evil laugh! She's going _psycho goddess!_ Don't let her get me, Mr. Millhouse!" Adam screamed in fear as he hid behind his mentor.

"Order! Order!" Professor Justus banged his gavel in rapid succession. "Miss Ryghts, I warned you against doing anything villainous! And that includes diabolical laughter!"

"H-huh?" Rei blinked. "Ahhh! D-did I do that?! I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry! I-I d-don't know what c-came over me...!"

"W-wait a minute! Where does that leave me?!" Trevor cried, looking frantically through his notes in apparent futility.

"Uh... *Ahem* Wh-where it leaves you, Mr. Schmucker, is guilty of perjury!" Rei declared, quickly regaining her composure. "Because of Mr. Peterman going out on his boat after the murder, you were able to pre-empt him and finger _him_ for the crime, while your partner escaped scot-free!" Pointing directly at Trevor, she continued, "There's no escape for you, maggot! Confess your crime and admit your wrongdoing, NOW!"

"N... No... No...! NO NO NO NO NO NONONO **NOOOOOOOOO!"** The witness screamed as he began to whirl around like a tornado, his notes flying everywhere! After about ten seconds, he caught himself, clearly dizzy, gripping the witness stand to steady himself. "D... Damn it! Dammit all to hell! That stupid fisherman was supposed to take the fall while my partner got off scot-free! And we'd've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling lawyers! Curse you, villain! Curse you, Rei Ryyyyyghts..." With that he let himself collapse to the ground, as the other students started talking with each other again...

"Order! Order! Order!" Professor Justus banged his gavel. _"Mr. Turnaround!_ Did Prosecutor Millhouse not say that this was a murder trial and not a stage performance?! Your grade will be penalized for this outburst!" There was only a groan from the witness stand in response.

"I... I lost?!" Adam groaned in disbelief. "How the heck...? This was supposed to be a cakewalk...!"

"Adam. Let this serve as a valuable lesson to you," Millhouse stated solemnly. "Never assume the outcome of the trial before you set foot in the courtroom... and always be prepared for unexpected twists and turns. Do you understand?"

"...yes, sir," the student bowed his head in defeat. "Professor, the prosecution rests. I can no longer prove my case."

Justus nodded in satisfaction. "Well, at least you know how to bow out gracefully, Mr. Prentiss. Good for you." He then banged his gavel. "Well then, I suppose it is time to announce my verdict. This court finds the defendant, Paul Peterman..."

 **NOT GUILTY**

The students erupted into cheers and applause, which then segued into chanting "Rei Ryghts! Rei Ryghts!", only being interrupted by the combination of the professor banging his gavel and the bell ringing out.

"This concludes the mock trial for today," Justus declared. "Class dismissed!"

 _To be continued..._

And thus Rei wins the mock trial... but what ramifications will this have? Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	3. Investigation, Day 1

Time to re-investigate a ten year old case...

Tony Anderson/decode9/ROCuevas- Glad you liked it.

DaToskin- Now you begin to see why this case put her on the map... ;)

Kirigiriko- Yeah, poor Nep, though we all know Nepgear would never really force her to eat eggplant...

And now... ON WITH THE SHOW!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Investigation Day 1

NOTE: Think of music from _Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies_ playing for the rest of this story (unless otherwise specified).

Court Record:

Crime Scene Photos

Crime Scene Diagram

 _March 27, 1:09 PM_

 _Phoenix Law School_

 _South Hallway_

(Well, I guess I'm a celebrity now...) thought Rei as she made her way through a sea of adoring students, who congratulated her and complimented her with statements such as, "That was awesome!" "Way to win a trial, Miss Ryghts!" "Way to beat that stuck-up Prentiss!" "Nice job taking him down a few pegs!"

Salvation came in the form of her boss. "All right, all right, back up and give the lady some air..." The students did as told, as Bartholomew joined his protege. "Excellent work, there, Rei. Even I didn't see that twist coming..."

"W-well, I j-just remembered your advice t-to think o-outside the b-box..." the bluenette responded, blushing.

"Miss Ryghts. A _word."_ Michael Millhouse's voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. All turned to see the spectacled prosecutor standing there with arms crossed, his expression cold and stern. "And shouldn't you students be getting to your next class?" Said students immediately broke up and scattered, not willing to incur the man's wrath.

(Uh-oh, I'm in for it now...) Rei thought, as she and Bartholomew quietly followed Millhouse...

 _March 27, 1:15 PM_

 _Phoenix Law School_

 _Front Entrance_

"Well, I must say, you've managed to open a nasty can of worms, Miss Ryghts," Millhouse began.

"Come on, Mike," Bart tried to argue, "She was just following what I taught her to do..."

"I'm well aware of that, Bart," the prosecutor snapped back. "But to think it took a rookie like her to find such a gaping logic hole in this case... not only does this reflect badly on me, but on my mentor as well..."

"W-well, nobody's p-perfect," Rei stuttered. "Maybe y-your mentor j-just d-dropped the ball th-this time...?" At hearing this, Millhouse seemed to almost keel over, clutching his chest. _"Ahhh!_ I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry! I-I went too far...!"

"N-no, it's alright," Mike grunted as he regained his composure. "It just... seems inconceivable to me that Robarts would overlook something like this..." Straightening up, he heaved a sigh. "In any case, there's only one thing to do now..."

"And that is?" Bartholomew prodded.

"Simple," the prosecutor answered as 'Pursuit- Lying Coldly' began to play in the background. "I'm going to have the original case re-tried!"

"W-what?! Really?!" gasped Rei.

"Yes," Millhouse nodded. "It's the only way I'll be able to set my mind at ease over this..."

"Now wait just a moment, Mike," Bartholomew cut in. "It's been _ten years_ since this case was first decided... Re-trying it so long after the fact is a tall order to say the least! Evidence potentially being lost, witnesses dying or having moved far away... Are you _really_ sure about this?"

"...Yes. I am." Millhouse said after a moment. "For my deceased mentor's honor... for the sake of the truth... I have to know what transpired ten years ago! And if that means the original verdict ends up being overturned, then so be it!" He then turned to Rei. "And on that note, Miss Ryghts... I would greatly appreciate your help in this matter."

"Wh-what d-do y-you need me t-to do?" the horned lawyer asked nervously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Millhouse raised an eyebrow. "I wish for you to defend Paul Peterman in court... the _real_ Paul Peterman. After all, you're the one who got the ball rolling, so to speak..."

"Meep!" Rei squeaked nervously. "B-but I've never d-done a real murder c-case in c-court before! C-can't Mr. Samson d-do it instead?"

"Not a good idea," her boss shook his head. "My and Mike's friendship is well-known in the legal circles... it's a potential conflict of interest. But you and he have only interacted this once, so it would be better if you lead the defense, Rei."

"I'm sure if you follow Bart's advice, like you did just now, you'll be fine," Millhouse reassured her. "That doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you in the courtroom, mind."

"R-right..." Rei took a breath to calm herself. "...OK, I'll do it. For the sake of the truth."

"Thank you, Miss Ryghts," the prosecutor nodded with a slight smile. "Well then, if we're all in agreement, I'll take you down to the detention center where Mr. Peterman is incarcerated..."

 _March 27, 1:57 PM_

 _Detention Center_

 _Visitor's Room_

"Th-thank you, guard," Rei nodded with gratitude as she walked in and sat down on one side of a clear pane of glass with a small shelf underneath.

"Sure. And don't mind those other prisoners' catcalls," the NPC security guard advised. "After, all if you had gone to prison, it would be a ladies' prison, not this one."

"R... right," the former villain shuddered, trying to put the felons' lustful taunts out of her mind. (I never thought of myself as particularly attractive, but those men are FAR below even my low standards...) She reminded herself that her boss was waiting in the lobby for her, while Millhouse had driven back to his office to try and find the evidence file from the original case...

Just then, the door opened on the other side of the glass, Rei sitting up straight as she watched another guard escort a prisoner in... He was indeed quite short, only 4'7", with an average build. He was, of course, dressed in a black and white striped prison uniform, a pair of old spectacles resting on a pointed nose that turned slightly downward, over hazel-green eyes. He had dark brown hair, with a mid-sized bald spot, and his mouth was turned down in a perpetual scowl.

"M... Mr. Paul Peterman?" Rei hesitantly asked as the man slowly walked up to the glass and sat down.

"Who are ya and whaddaya want?" the man growled in a harsh tone, yet one devoid of all hope.

"M-my name is Rei Ryghts, attorney at law." She was mildly surprised when Peterman showed no reaction except a silent glare. (Oh, right... he was imprisoned before I...) Putting that thought of her head, she continued, "I-I'm here t-to act a-as y-your d-defense counsel..."

 _"HA!"_ the prisoner barked. "Ha ha ha! Is that supposed to be a joke? There, I laughed! You happy now?!"

"I-I'm being serious!" Rei insisted. "Th-they're g-going to re-try your c-case...!"

"Like I'm supposed to believe that?!" Peterman snapped back. "I ran out of appeals years ago! And every other attorney I've had never had any fight in 'em! And neither do you, from the looks of things! Why should I bother with such a farce when I already know the outcome?! To hell with you! Go crawl back into whatever law office you crawled out of!"

At this, Rei gritted her teeth, feeling that dark force welling up within her again... "YOU PATHETIC, UNGRATEFUL _MAGGOT!_ If you would bother to listen to me for _one second,_ I'd've told you that I found contradictions in the original testimony, and convinced the original prosecutor's protege to re-open the case! But _noooooo!_ You're so busy wallowing in your _worthless self pity,_ that you give up before I even say anything! Well, if that's how you're going to be, then to hell with _you!_ Enjoy spending the rest of your pathetic existence in prison, _worm!"_ With that, she got up and turned to walk out...

"...w... W-wait, WAIT!" The fisherman suddenly called out.

"Oh?" Rei looked back over her shoulder. "Change your mind, worm?"

"May-maybe I was a bit hasty," Peterman grunted. "I thought you didn't have any fire in your belly, b-but I was clearly mistaken... I-I'll hear you out."

"Alright, fine." Rei turned back and sat down. "I'll give you _one_ more chance..."

"O-okay..." Peterman nodded. "Y-you said you convinced the original prosecutor's protege to re-open the case?"

"He should be going through the evidence right now," Rei confirmed. "Although, he's mostly doing it to uphold his mentor's honor, seeing as he's already passed..."

"Robarts is dead? HA!" the fisherman scoffed, before catching himself. "I-I mean, no offense, but that guy fooled me into thinking I actually had a chance to get acquitted in court... but during the actual trial, he just stood there stone-faced while that damn witness spun his (censored) lies! No better than all the rest!"

"Michael Millhouse isn't like that," Rei insisted. "H-he's good friends with my b-boss, s-so he knows th-that prosecution isn't j-just about g-getting a g-guilty verdict..."

"Is that so?" Peterman raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that with a grain of salt... and how'd you convince him to re-open the case, anyway? Somethin' about the witness testimony...?"

"R-right," Rei nodded, explaining to Paul about the mock trial and how she managed to win despite the original case ending in a guilty verdict... "So, Mr. Millhouse d-decided to-t see how his mentor m-messed up so b-badly..."

"That's simple, he just wanted a guilty verdict!" the prisoner muttered. "Didn't matter to him how messed up the witness' testimony was..."

"I w-wouldn't know, I n-never m-met him myself," Rei shrugged. "A-anyway, I need you t-to t-tell me what happened, f-from your p-perspective..."

Paul Peterman gave the horned lawyer a long look. "...Alright, I suppose I can tell my story one more time." Taking a deep breath, he began, "It all started when I was turned down for a loan at Third Fourth Bank by Mr. Clark. I wasn't exactly happy w'that, so a few days later I waited at the rear entrance at closing time, so I could give that bastard a piece o' my mind... When he came out, though he just walked right on by, ignoring me completely! So I went after 'im, ranting and raving the whole way, until we got into an alley, at which point he stopped."

"I thought that maybe he was gonna finally hear me out, but he turned to his right, gasping and raising his hands! I saw someone past the garbage can off to the right, saying somethin' along the lines of 'so you decided to screw us over, huh?' Then, BLAM-BLAM! The guy was shot twice in the chest and collapsed against the wall! I screamed and ran for my life, not stoppin' until I got on my fishing boat, putting out into deep water so they wouldn't chase me down."

"After an hour or so out on the sea, I came back t'the dock, at which point it occurred to me that I had to tell the police what I'd seen. So I took a cab over t'the police station and told the guy at the desk what happened, at which point he led me into one of the interrogation rooms."

"Why d-didn't you j-just call them instead?" Rei interrupted.

"One, I don't have a cell phone, and two, I was afraid the killers were lyin' in wait somewhere to whack me or whatever," Paul answered. "Anyway, after a few minutes o' waitin', a detective shows up and starts grillin' me hard. I didn't understand at the time why he was bein' so harsh on me... until he stood up and said, 'Paul Peterman, you're under arrest for the murder of Rich Clark.' Threw me for a loop... I admit I kinda flew off the handle there, forcin' the guy to pepper-spray me, after which I got tossed in a jail cell. And the rest is history."

Rei nodded solemnly. "I have t-to ask... d-did you g-get a g-good look at th-the shooter?"

The fisherman just hook his head sadly. "My memory's not what it used to be... the thing that's burned most into my mind is seeing that clerk collapse in a puddle o' blood..."

"D-do you remember seeing a c-clown t-toy in the alley n-nearby where you were standing?"

Peterman blinked. "Now that you mention it... I think I did see something like that. But what does that have to do with anything?"

Rei breathed a sigh of relief. "OK, good. That matches the crime scene photo taken from the witness' apparent perspective. So that WAS you standing there, just like I'd argued in the mock trial."

"...But can you prove it in a real courtroom?" the prisoner looked Rei straight in the eye.

"I-I think I c-can. B-but it depends on w-what Dean Schmucker has t-to say when he t-testifies..."

"He's a lyin' bastard!" Peterman shouted suddenly. "And it's been ten years, so he probably won't be able t'keep his story straight this time!"

"F-for your sake, Mr. Peterman, I hope y-you're right," Rei sighed, before opening her briefcase all pulling out some papers. "OK, s-so let's make th-this official, p-please sign these p-papers..."

"I'll have to take them around to him," the guard spoke up.

"Let's just hope this's the _last_ time I have to sign legal papers," Paul grunted...

 _March 27, 3:04 PM_

 _High Prosecutor's Office_

 _Room 1307_

After informing the precinct of Rei's intention to act as Peterman's attorney, Bartholomew drove himself and Rei over to the prosecutor's office building to meet with Michael Millhouse. But when they got there...

"Dammit..." the prosecutor groaned as he sat at his desk, looking over a folder that seemed practically empty...

"Hey, Mike!" Bart greeted. "We got Peterman to agree to have Rei represent him in court... what's wrong?"

"Hey, Bart. Everything, that's what," Mike groaned as he slowly stood up. "I found the original evidence file, but..." he took the folder in front of him and turned it upside-down... causing only one sheet of paper to float down.

"W-what? That's it?!" Rei gasped.

"That's it," Millhouse nodded solemnly. "The whole file's been purged, save for this one work permit, which seems to be completely unrelated to the case. The only other evidence is what was specifically prepared for the mock trial..."

Bartholomew sighed and bowed his head, saying, "I warned you something like this, might happen, Mike... Do you still want to go through with the re-trial?"

"We're already past the point of no return," Millhouse stated. "I just got a call from the courthouse, which informed me that the re-trial's been approved... on a more positive note, I did manage to locate the original witness."

"Y-you found Dean Schmucker?" Rei pressed.

"That's right. Apparently he works as an accountant now," Mike confirmed. "I've sent Detective Snorkel Pericles to compel him to testify tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow... W-w-wait, WHAT?!" the former goddess cried in shock. "Th-the trial's _tomorrow?!"_

"Tomorrow was the only day they had clear on the docket," Millhouse nodded grimly. "At least the judge is one of the most fair-minded and unbiased people I know... though I can't remember his name for the life of me."

"I think I know who you're talking about," Bartholomew nodded. "I actually got his business card once, but I couldn't make out his handwriting at all... He does his job well though, and that's what matters. In any case," he turned back to Rei, "it looks like your best bet tomorrow will be to see if you can get any new information out of Dean Schmucker during cross-examination..."

The former goddess just nodded at this. "I j-just hope he'll c-crack as easily as the student w-witness did..."

"Speaking of which..." Millhouse opened a drawer, retrieving some papers. "Here's a copy of the notes Trevor Turnaround used for the mock trial. It's basically a transcript of Schmucker's original testimony, as well as what he said during interrogation by the police. On a side note, I heard Professor Justus made Trevor stay after in order to pick up all the notes he dropped when he 'confessed'..."

*Testimony Notes added to the Court Record.*

Rei winced at this. "W-well, his b-breakdown _was_ a little o-over th-the top..."

"I quite agree," Bartholomew nodded. "Someone's been playing too much _Gyakuten Saiban_ lately... Anyway, we should be heading back to the office, so Rei can prepare for tomorrow..."

"Right. Well, you may as well take this evidence too," Mike handed the work permit to his friend. "Maybe you can figure out it's relevance to the case, because I sure can't..."

*Avalon Hotel Work Permit added to the Court Record.*

(Avalon Hotel?) thought Rei. (That's not exactly in close proximity to the crime scene...)

"Right then," Bart nodded, "See you in court tomorrow, Mike. Or Rei will, anyway... Let's hope the truth wins out."

Millhouse nodded as he waved them off. "Make sure you're well-rested for tomorrow..."

"I-I will," Rei nodded as she and her boss left.

 _To be continued..._

Next up, the re-trial! Read and review!


	4. Trial, Day 1

Finally finished with this chapter... Some real-life stuff was slowing me down...

Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Trial Day 1

Court Record:

Crime Scene Photos

Crime Scene Diagram

Testimony Notes

Avalon Hotel Work Permit

 _March 28, 9:36 AM_

 _District Court_

 _Defendant Lobby No. 1_

Rei couldn't help but note that Paul Peterman seemed to be in a sour mood as he stood in the defendant lobby, with his head bowed and arms crossed. "I-Is s-something wrong, Mr. Peterman...?"

"HA!" the fisherman shouted. "Everything's wrong, that's what... how many times have I stood in this place, wonderin' if I had any chance of winnin' this time..."

"Th-things are g-going to be d-different this time!" Rei asserted. "I'm g-going to fight for you w-with everything I have!"

Paul raised his head up to look the lawyer in the eye. "If it hadn't been fer your angry outburst yesterday, I mighta scoffed at that..." Just then, Bart Samson walked in.

"Good morning, Mr. Peterman. Rei, are you holding up all right?" The large man asked. "This is your first murder trial, after all... I don't want your nerves getting the better of you here."

"I-I'm fine!" Rei insisted. "I know y-you can't b-be standing next t-to me at the b-bench, but will you at least b-be watching f-from the gallery?"

"Of course," Bartholomew nodded. "Besides, you've technically rehearsed for the first part of this trial anyway. Just remember what you did there, and you should be fine."

"R-right," Rei nodded.

"Well I sure hope you can expose Mr. Schmucker's lies this time," Peterman muttered. "I'm counting' on ya, Miss Ryghts... don't screw it up."

"I'll d-do my b-best not t-to..."

 _March 28, 9:45 AM_

 _District Court_

 _Courtroom No. 1_

Rei recognized the judge immediately upon entering the courtroom... it was the same one who had presided over her debut trial. He was completely bald, with a large flowing gray-white beard and stern black eyes. Said judge then banged his gavel to silence the muttering crowds. "Court is now in session for the trial of Paul Peterman."

"Th-the defense is ready, Y-Your Honor," Rei proclaimed.

"The prosecution is ready to proceed, Your Honor," Michael Millhouse stated solemnly from the other side of the courtroom.

The judge nodded in acknowledgment, before looking over at the defense's bench. "Miss Rei Ryghts, it's been a while. I haven't seen you since your very first trial! Where have you been?"

"M-mostly handling civil c-cases, Your Honor," Rei muttered as she tapped her index fingers together.

"Ah, yes, I see," the bald man nodded. "Well, everyone has to start somewhere, I suppose... I see you've gotten rid of your handcuffs, by the way."

"I-it was Mr. Samson's idea," the former villain replied. "He s-said th-that if I w-wanted t-to repair my reputation, I sh-should stop looking like I d-deserved t-to g-go back t-to j-jail."

"Fair enough," the judge allowed. "But, Miss Ryghts... Are you sure you're ready to handle a ten-year-old cold case such as this one?"

"With all due respect, Your Honor," Millhouse spoke up, "it is because of Miss Ryghts that we are even standing here in court today. She has found several inconsistencies in the testimony and evidence, which left me no choice but to re-open the case." The gallery started muttering in disbelief at this, being silenced by the judge's gavel.

"Did she truly?" the judge said with wide eyes. "Well, it seems my hunch about you was correct, Miss Ryghts... you do indeed appear to be a prodigy of law."

Rei could only squeak in response as her face burned red. (I'm going to die of embarrassment if you keep buttering me up like this, Your Honor...!)

Fortunately for her, it seemed that he was finished with his praise for the moment, as he banged his gavel again. "Anyway, let us proceed. Prosecutor Millhouse, your opening statement."

"Yes, Your Honor." Holding up a piece of paper, the prosecutor began, "The crime in question occurred almost 10 years ago, on July 7, in an alleyway a short distance from the local branch of Fourth Third Bank, where the victim worked. Said victim was Rich Clark, a bank clerk, who was 31 at the time of death. The crime was reported by a witness at around 6 PM." Looking up, he continued, "When the police got there, they found no body, but they did discover a large bloodstain and two shell casings, as well as one bullet that had imbedded in the wall. The pattern of the blood suggests that the victim collapsed where he stood, then was dragged off somewhere..."

"Are you saying that the body has not been found, even to this day?" the judge asked.

"Unfortunately not, Your Honor," Millhouse shrugged and shook his head in futility. "Nor has the murder weapon, though the prosecution has a reasonable hypothesis to explain this... You see, the witness identified one Paul Peterman, a local fisherman, as the shooter. Most likely he took the body and murder weapon out to sea in his fishing boat to dispose of both... Unfortunately, said boat has since been sold off and disappeared, so we cannot search that either..."

"It sounds like you're missing quite a bit of evidence for this case," the judge observed sternly.

"I did the best I could in the limited time I had, Your Honor," Millhouse countered. "I did manage to locate the original witness, Dean Schmucker, and compel him to testify. According to Detective Pericles, he was reluctant at first, but changed his mind when threatened with perjury."

"I see," the bald man nodded. "So do you intend to call him now?"

"Yes, Your Honor," the prosecutor replied. "Bailiff, please bring in the witness."

"Yes, sir!" the NPC replied, exiting the courtroom for a brief moment, then returning with the man in question. He appeared to be 6' 2" tall, a lanky build, short dirty blond hair, brown eyes, and a slightly pale skin complexion. He was dressed in a cheap orange-brown shirt with a red necktie, and looked somewhat nervous.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record," Millhouse ordered.

"Um... Dean Schmucker. I work in accounting," the tall man answered. "Now what's this about perjury...?"

"To be blunt, this is a re-trial of a case you testified in ten years ago," the prosecutor answered. "Involving one Paul Peterman..."

"W-wait, what?!" Dean gasped in shock. "I thought this case was done and dusted! Why re-do it now?"

"That is none of your concern, witness," Millhouse rebuffed him coldly. "Your only concern is to testify about what you saw on that day..."

"Ugh..." Schmucker began to sweat. "I-it's been ten years, man... my memory's gone all fuzzy! How'm I supposed to recall every little detail...?"

"Don't worry. We have a transcript of your original testimony on hand," Mike assured the witness. "But first, let's see what you can recall on your own."

"W-well, alright..." the blond man sighed.

The judge then banged his gavel. "Very good, Mr. Schmucker. Please begin your testimony now."

(OK, this is it!) Rei thought, (My first real murder trial! Here goes nothing...)

Schmucker began, "Well, it all started when I went to bank around closing time. Actually, they'd just closed their doors, so I went around back, hoping I could catch one of the tellers on the way out. I spotted the one guy- Clark, I think? -going into an alleyway, so I took off after him. But then he stopped and looked to his right, raising his hands! I heard a guy yell something, then, BLAM-BLAM! the clerk collapsed against the wall, and I fled for my life!"

"Did you happen to see the shooter?" Millhouse inquired.

"Uh..." Dean bowed his head in thought for a moment. "Only a glimpse, but I'm pretty sure the guy had dark hair, glasses, a brown jacket, and was kinda short in stature... kinda like the guy in the defendant's chair!" If looks could kill, Peterman would have struck the witness dead then and there.

"I see. Thank you, witness," Millhouse nodded.

"Now then, Miss Ryghts, you may begin your cross-examination," declared the judge.

"Y-yes, Your Honor," Rei acknowledged. "Mr. Schmucker, y-you said you only c-caught a g-glimpse of the shooter?"

"Well, there _was_ a big garbage can in the way, sitting on top of the dumpster," Schmucker pointed out.

"Really? B-but why w-would it b-be sitting th-there?" Rei pondered. "D-doesn't that violate s-some sort of local ordinance?"

"How should I know?!" Dean shrugged helplessly. "But that's the truth, it was sitting there, stuffed full, with some folders sticking out the top!"

"...That seems consistent with your original testimony," Millhouse observed as he looked over some papers.

(Wow, that was faster than I thought,) Rei mulled. (Well, time to spring the trap...) Pulling out a photo, she stated, "Mr. Schmucker, this is a photo of the crime scene, where you can see the garbage can in question..."

"Yeah, off to the right, like I said!" the man nodded.

"But where are the folders you spoke of? I don't see them in this photo..." the horned lawyer pointed out.

"H... huh?!" Schmucker grunted, pulling at his tie a little. "M-maybe they fell out?"

"OBJECTION!" Rei slammed her fists on the bench. "I don't think so, _worm!_ As you can see in this second photo, the folders you described are clearly visible! The problem is, this photo is from the _shooter's_ perspective!"

"WAAAAHHH!" Dean Schmucker screamed in shock, setting the gallery chattering...

 _"Objection!"_ Millhouse interrupted. "Miss Ryghts, the forensics clearly showed that the shooter was someone _short_ in stature! Inconsistent with the witness' height!"

"Y-yeah, that's right!" Dean stammered. "I'm not even licensed to carry!"

"OBJECTION!" the former villain shot back, shaking her head. "I never said he _was_ the shooter! But it still makes sense if he was standing _next to the shooter_ when Mr. Clark was killed!"

"GAAACCK!" the witness as he yanked at his tie, which suddenly popped off, revealing it to be a cheap clip-on.

"Order! Order!" the judge yelled as he gaveled down the restless gallery. "...Now I'm starting to understand. This is why Prosecutor Millhouse had the witness threatened with perjury, isn't it?!"

"My, Your Honor," Mike chuckled, "it takes a while for the pennies to fall, but when they do there is a veritable cascade."

"HOLD IT!" Schmucker suddenly yelled as he reattached his tie. "I... I want to revise my testimony!"

"Oh, really?" the prosecutor raised an eyebrow with arms crossed. "After all this time, and only _now_ you wish to change your story?"

"L-look, I, I..." Schmucker stammered. "I-I admit it! I was standing next to the shooter! B-but that doesn't make me his accomplice or anything! Please, I'm begging ya, man, hear me out!"

The judge banged his gavel. "Well, given that it's been a few years, I'm inclined to give the witness some leeway here. But only this once!" he warned sternly. "Now, please give us your revised testimony."

"Y-yessir, Your Honor," Dean nodded. "Th-the truth is... I actually bumped into that Peterman guy while I was followin' after the clerk. But one look at that angry face, and I decided to let him have first go at him. Anyway, we entered the alleyway and confronted Mr. Clark together... but suddenly the guy- the fisherman, I mean- just pulls out a gun and shoots the clerk! So I scrammed outta there as fast as my legs could carry me, before I was next!"

Millhouse pondered in silence for a moment. "...So, you were standing with the defendant, but you didn't expect him to pull a gun?"

"Th-that's right!" Schmucker nodded vigorously. "I'm just glad I got such long legs, y'know?"

"Why did you not testify truthfully from the beginning?!" the judge demanded.

"Ummm..." the blond man tugged at his tie again. "I-it was my lawyer... he told me not to say where I'd been actually standing. He was all like, 'If you tell those guys you were standin' next to the guy who pulled the trigger, they'll finger you as the accomplice for sure!' S-so, that's why I lied!"

The judge could only shake his head in disappointment. "Well then, Mr. Schmucker, I would say that your lawyer gave you some _very_ bad advice. Perjury is a very serious crime, in case you didn't know!"

"Of course, it remains to be seen if your new testimony will stand up to scrutiny as well," Millhouse pointed out.

"Indeed," the judge nodded in agreement. "The defense may cross-examine the witness."

"Y-y-yes, Your Honor!" Rei acknowledged. (But... there didn't seem to be anything contradictory in that testimony...)

But then, the former goddess remembered another piece of advice Bartholomew had given her... ("Rei, if you can't seem to find any inconsistencies in a witness' testimony, you can always press them for more information. If they're lying, more often than not they'll slip and say something contradictory. Only the most sophisticated of liars can keep their story straight...")

(Right, and Dean Schmucker doesn't seem like the brightest bulb here,) Rei thought to herself. (Right, so what should I ask about first...?) After pondering for a few moments, she spoke up, "Mr. Schmucker, may I ask why y-you were so d-desperate t-to get a hold of a t-teller in the f-first p-place?"

"Huh? Oh, uh..." Schmucker furrowed his brow for a second. "Well, my boss was informed of some inconsistencies in the payroll, so he sent me over to the bank to meet with Mr. Clark and figure out what was going on. I think he suspected that someone was skimming off the top or something..."

"Why did he send you specifically?" Millhouse pressed.

"Well, you know, I'm an accountant now, but even back then I was pretty good with numbers," Schmucker explained.

"Ah, yes," the prosecutor nodded in comprehension. "You were a construction worker back in the day, right?"

"Well, everyone's gotta start somewhere," the witness shrugged.

"Indeed, it seems you've moved up in the world, Mr. Schmucker," the judge added.

(Hmm, nothing contradictory there,) Rei mused. (Guess I'll have to come at this from a different angle...) "Mr. Schmucker, how come you g-got to the b-bank s-so late anyway? Shouldn't y-you have t-tried t-to get th-there earlier?"

"Y-yeah, well..." Dean stammered, "The bank closed about a half-hour after my shift got off. I should've been able to get there in time by car, but... I got a little turned around and lost. That's why I was late..."

"So, exactly wh-what t-time d-did your shift g-get off?" Rei asked.

"Uh... about 4:30 PM, I think..." Schmucker replied uncertainly.

"Which would mean that the bank closed at about 5 PM," Millhouse supplemented. "And the murder occurred not long after..."

Rei blinked at hearing this. (Wait a minute... 5 PM? But wasn't the murder reported at...) She then gasped as a sudden epiphany hit her. "HOLD IT! Prosecutor Millhouse, didn't you say the crime was reported at 6 PM?! That's almost a whole-hour gap!"

"Wh-what?!" the judge gasped with wide eyes.

"Ah...!" Millhouse grunted with a similar expression.

 _"Acckk!"_ Schmucker grabbed his tie again, as the audience began to mutter in confusion. "I was, uh, running away in panic, so I got lost again! A-as soon as I got my bearings, I ran right to the police station!"

(Even I can see he's grasping at straws now!) Rei thought, (I _must_ be on to something here!) Slamming her fists on the bench, she declared, "I don't buy that, worm! You seriously expect us to believe it took you a _whole hour_ to find your way to the station, even if you got lost?!"

"Unfortunately, I have to concur with the defense on this one," Millhouse lamented. "Even going on foot, the police station is only a half-hour away from Fourth Third Bank..."

"And another thing!" Rei pressed the attack. "Even if you got lost, couldn't you have just flagged down somebody and asked to borrow their phone, and contacted the police that way?! Your flimsy excuse holds no weight, _maggot!"_

 _"Ngaaahhhh!"_ Schmucker snapped his tie off again, causing the gallery's chatter to increase in volume, forcing the judge to gavel them down.

"Well then, Miss Ryghts," Millhouse said, "would you have any theories as to what the witness was actually doing during this time?"

(What he was actually doing?) the horned attorney pondered internally. (Well, if I assume that Schmucker was actually the accomplice to the real shooter, then...) "There's only one thing that can explain it! Dean Schmucker was helping his partner, the one who shot Rich Clark, hide the body away!"

"H-he was hiding the body?!" the judge gasped.

"Ah, so you're suggesting that Mr. Clark's murderer is a heretofore unknown _third party,_ instead of Mr. Peterman?" Millhouse suggested.

"Th-that's exactly what I'm saying!" Rei insisted. "A-after all, we both know Schmucker and Peterman had n-no association with each other b-before the murder happened!" (It's the only way Paul Peterman could be innocent!)

"I see," Mike nodded. "However, before we address the matter of whether Mr. Schmucker was hiding the body, there's something vital you're missing."

"Wh-what's that?" the former villain grunted.

"Motive. Exactly why would Dean Schmucker and his so-called partner want Rich Clark dead anyway?" the cobalt-haired prosecutor stated.

"Uhh..." Rei bit her lip as she pondered the possibilities. "W-well... Mr. Schmucker said that he was sent t-to the b-bank b-because Mr. Clark found inconsistencies in the p-payroll... B-but what if HE was the one skimming off the top?!"

"Urk!" Schmucker grunted, now holding his detached clip-on in both hands.

"Which means, he and his partner had Mr. Clark killed to silence him!" Rei finished with a dramatic flourish of her pointer finger.

"Hmm... that does sound plausible enough," the judge agreed. "But that still leaves the question: Where could they have buried the body that it remained undiscovered for ten years?"

"Um... I think... W-well, Mr. Schmucker used t-to b-be a c-construction worker b-back then, right?" Rei stuttered. "S-so, th-they p-probably b-buried the b-body at the c-construction site! After all, n-no one would q-question construction workers moving d-dirt at a construction site!"

"Oh, come on!" Schmucker protested. "Now you're just talking out your rear end!"

"Objection!" Millhouse cut in. "Miss Ryghts, while your theory appears to be sound, it is just that: a theory based on conjecture."

"C-conjecture?!" Rei grunted in disbelief. "H-how could you...?!"

Millhouse held up a hand. "Miss Ryghts. You and I both know the golden rule of Lowee's legal system: _In a court of law, evidence is everything._ Therefore, if you wish for this court to take your claim seriously, you need proof of some kind."

"Y-yeah!" Dean nodded vigorously in agreement. "Let's see some proof, huh?! Of course, it's been so long, I'll bet there isn't any evidence left!"

"Urk!" Rei groaned, sweating a bit. (He's more right than he knows... the entire evidence file was purged! The only thing that was left was...) And then, suddenly everything clicked. "AAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Ha! See? I knew it! You got nothing!" Dean proclaimed with a relieved grin.

 _"OBJECTION!"_ the horned woman retorted. "I DO have proof, worm, and it's time for you to eat dirt!"

"...You sure seem confident all of a sudden," Millhouse observed. "Very well then, show us your proof."

"TAKE THAT!" Rei responded, presenting the work permit. "This is a safe work permit for the Avalon Hotel from ten years ago!"

"The Avalon Hotel?" the judge blinked. "Come to think of it, that venue is preparing for its' tenth anniversary celebration, in a few more months..."

"What the...?!" Schmucker gasped in disbelief. "Wh... where d-did you get that?!"

"As Prosecutor Millhouse can corroborate, this was the last piece of evidence remaining in the evidence file from ten years ago," Rei explained. "The rest of the file had been purged, save this one work permit, which we had believed irrelevant to the case... until now!"

 _"Ahhh!"_ Mike cried out in surprise. "Y-you mean... you can't be saying..."

"I am!" Rei insisted, slamming her fists on the bench. "The defense asserts that Mr. Clark's body is buried underneath the foundation of the Avalon Hotel!"

"NGOOOOOOH!" Dean Schmucker screamed as he literally ripped his clip on tie in two pieces, setting the gallery abuzz!

"Order! Order! _Order!"_ the judge cried as he banged his gavel repeatedly. "Miss Ryghts! Are you saying the reason no one has found Mr. Clark's body after all this time, is NOT because Paul Peterman disposed of it at sea, but because Dean Schmucker and his partner buried him at the construction site of that hotel ten years ago?!"

"Exactly!" Rei confirmed with an evil smirk. "So tell me, Mr. Schmucker, did you work at that site ten years ago or not?"

"I... I..." Schmucker stammered, sweat pouring down his face. "L... Lawyer... I want a lawyer! I'm not saying anything else! I want a lawyer _right now!"_

Millhouse just shrugged and shook his head. "Well, you're certainly within your rights to request an attorney, Mr. Schmucker. Unfortunately, your lawyer will have to consult with you from jail. After all, we've proven beyond any reasonable doubt that you lied under oath ten years ago!"

"GAAAAAAAHHH!" Schmucker cried in shock, throwing his hands up, causing the two halves of his clip-on to sail in opposite directions, before he collapsed over the witness stand, remaining there until the bailiff came and affixed the handcuffs.

"Hey Schmucker!" Peterman called out. "Right there, asshole!" He grinned as he made an obscene gesture, the blond man simply glaring back at him as he was escorted out of the courtroom.

 _"Mr. Peterman!_ Such behavior is unacceptable in a court of law!" the judge admonished. "Do anything like that again and I will hold you in contempt!" The defendant simply folded his arms and snorted in response.

(Honestly, I can't say I blame him...) Rei thought with her head bowed.

"Ahem!" Millhouse cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Now then, Your Honor, I believe a temporary adjournment is in order, so we can begin excavating the Avalon Hotel, to see if the defense's theory has any merit."

"Yes, I quite agree," the judge nodded. "Court will recess while this new wrinkle in the case is looked into. Court is adjourned!" He banged his gavel to signal the end of proceedings for the day.

 _To be continued..._

Again, sorry this took so long... read and review!


	5. Investigation, Day 2

Finally done with this chapter... my job's been really stressful lately... X(

ON WITH THE SHOW!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Investigation- Day 2

Court Record:

Crime Scene Photos

Crime Scene Diagram

Testimony Notes

Avalon Hotel Work Permit

 _March 28, 11:37 AM_

 _Avalon Hotel_

 _Manager's Office_

 _"NO!_ Absolutely not!" cried the manager of the Avalon Hotel, a rotund NPC in a business suit. "There is no way in hell that I will allow you to tear up my hotel based on a ten-year-old hunch!"

"Not even to possibly clear an innocent man's name?" Millhouse said with arms crossed.

"Then you should've gotten it right the first time!" The manager shot back. "In case you stuffy government types haven't realized, I've got a bottom line to look after here! Not to mention getting ready for our tenth-anniversary celebration! And then YOU come wanting to tear up the place because you dropped the ball years ago? I don't think so!"

"...I see." Turning to the open doorway, he raised his voice, "Would you mind joining us, Miss Ryghts?" Rei promptly walked into the office, frowning. "This is Rei Ryghts, current counsel for the defense. Would you care to explain to her why you won't accommodate her client?"

"Rei Ryghts...?" The NPC took a long look at her, recognition swiftly dawning. "Waitaminute! Not THE Rei Ryghts the psycho goddess! What is SHE doing here?!"

"Guilty as charged," the former villain smirked sinisterly. "Pathetic _worm,_ only concerned about money! Tell me, what good will your money be when your _life_ is demanded of you?!"

"G-g-get awaaaayy!" the manager cried out in terror, backing up to the wall in his chair.

Rei walked right up to him, pushing a finger into his chest. "Now, are you going to grant permission to excavate the basement of your hotel, or do I have to get... _violent?!"_

 _"Agh!_ Go ahead, go ahead! Do whatever you want, just _please_ don't kill me!" the shadow-man babbled.

Rei smirked as she straightened up and backed off slightly. "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it, worm? Well, if you'll excuse us..." She turned on her heel and marched out, causing the manager to heave a big sigh of relief.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation," Millhouse gave a slight bow. "And I promise we'll have everything put back in order in time for your tenth-anniversary celebration..." With that, he turned and followed Rei out of the office.

 _March 28, 12:21 PM_

 _High Prosecutor's Office_

 _Room 1307_

"Ugh, I hope that's the last time I have to do that..." Rei sighed as she and Mike walked into the office.

"I didn't like having to do that anymore than you did," Millhouse concurred. "But in this business, being polite only gets you so far sometimes... If you'll excuse me for saying so, your notorious reputation might actually be a boon in some situations, like getting unwilling witnesses to cooperate, or the like..."

The bluenette pondered this for a moment, before shaking her head... "O-only if I h-have t-to. B-but anyway, why d-did you want me t-to c-come back here?"

"Because I need an outside perspective," the prosecutor answered. "It boggles the mind that Clarence Robarts would purge everything in the evidence file, save the ONE piece that completely unraveled Dean Schmucker's story. Why would he do that? It almost seems to suggest that he knew the truth from the beginning..."

Rei mused, "Well, wh-when I was t-talking with Paul Peterman in j-jail, he said th-that Robarts seemed sympathetic t-to his p-plight at first... b-but he c-completely changed wh-when the t-trial started..." She swallowed before continuing, "I-I really hate t-to say it, b-but... maybe he was b-blackmailed into m-making Mr. P-Peterman t-take the fall...?"

"Preposterous!" Mike slammed his fist on his desk. "I knew Clarence, he would _never_ submit to blackmail! He loved his job as a prosecutor above all else! And he always prided himself on being fair, even to the accused!"

Rei pondered for a moment. "W-well, what if it w-was his law c-career th-that was th-threatened? I-if he loved th-that above all e-else..."

"But his career is spotless!" Millhouse counter-argued. "It doesn't make any sense...!"

"Wh-what about b-before he started in law?" the former goddess inquired. "M-maybe he had a s-skeleton in his c-closet or something, and Schmucker o-or his p-partner f-found out somehow...?"

"..." Mike was silent for a few moments. "You know, Clarence never really talked about his personal life- it was all business with him. But I remember something he told me when he was about to retire..."

("Michael, I know that you've thought very highly of me as an attorney. But the truth is, I am just a man... an imperfect being, who has made mistakes... some very large. Sometimes I look back and wonder whether I could have done things differently... But I suppose it's too late for regrets. My time is passed. But hopefully, Michael, you will avoid some of the pitfalls that I fell into...")

"...I didn't really understand what he meant at the time. But given what's happened with this case, I can't help but wonder, if this is one of those 'mistakes' he talked about..."

"I'm curious..." Rei spoke up. "W-was he the one who m-made the m-mock t-trial based on th-this c-case?"

Mike's brow furrowed at this. "Now that you mention it... it was one of the last things he did before he retired." He looked Rei in the eye. "Are you suggesting he did that in the hope that someone would point out the contradictions in the case, like you did?"

"N-not to mention he left th-the most important p-piece of evidence i-in the f-file after p-purging everything else..." The horned woman pointed out.

Millhouse closed his eyes in deep thought for a few moments, tapping one finger on his desk... then he opened them again with a heavy sigh. "Well, I suppose I could try looking into what he did before joining the Prosecutor's Office... in the meantime, I'd like you to look at Dean Schmucker's construction co-workers from ten years ago, and see if any of them were licensed to carry a firearm."

"I-I'm not even s-sure how t-to d-do th-that..." Rei stuttered uncertainly.

"I'll call Detective Pericles and tell him what to do," Mike said. "You can meet with him at the precinct..." he trailed off as something occurred to him. "Oh, but you might want to call Bart first and have him accompany you, so he can head off any potential... incidents."

Rei gulped and nodded vigorously in response. "U-understood," she said as she pulled out her cell phone...

 _March 28, 1:10 PM_

 _Police Department_

 _Criminal Affairs_

"REI RYGHTS!" An officer shouted as the woman in question entered with Bartholomew, causing almost everyone there to stand and draw their guns.

"HOLD IT!" Bart shouted as he protectively stepped in front of Rei. "Miss Ryghts is with me! There is no cause for alarm, gentlemen!"

 _"Hold your fire!"_ the chief detective ordered as he walked up. "Mr. Samson, with all due respect, you should've known better than to bring a final boss right into the police precinct!"

"She's not a final boss anymore," Bartholomew insisted. "Anyway, we're here at Prosecutor Millhouse's request, to meet up with Detective Snorkel Pericles."

"He's right," another voice spoke up, belonging to a black-haired man with grey eyes, average height, and dressed in a gray-brown trench coat and hat. "I got the call from Mr. Millhouse a few minutes ago. I'm supposed to be helping them with investigating the background of a witness from some ten-year-old case..."

"...I see," the chief detective sighed. "Well then, she's your responsibility, Snooper." Turning to the rest of his subordinates, he ordered, "Stand down, everyone. False alarm!" The other detectives slowly returned to their normal business. "Anyway, might I suggest you take them to my office, Detective? The others might feel better if there's at least a wall between them and Rei Ryghts..."

 _March 28, 1:15 PM_

 _Police Department_

 _Chief Detective's Office_

"I-I'm so very sorry for what happened," Rei apologized as the trio walked into the office.

"It's not your fault, Rei," Bartholomew assured her. "They're the ones who overreacted..."

"It's kinda police instinct to not take any chances with a criminal," Snooper muttered. "But y'know, now that I see you up close and personal, Miss Ryghts, I can tell the stories about you are way overblown."

"Th-thank you, Detective," Rei bowed her head in gratitude.

"Just Snooper's fine," the detective said as he sat down at the computer. "So, who were we looking at again?"

"Dean Schmucker," Bart explained. "More specifically, we're looking at his co-workers on the construction crew that worked on the Avalon Hotel ten years ago."

"Alrighty," Snooper nodded, typing a few commands into the computer. "Avalon Hotel... construction crew... OK, I got a list of names here. Here we go, Dean Schmucker. So what are we looking for, exactly?"

"S-see i-if any o-of th-them are licensed t-to c-carry a g-gun," Rei requested.

The detective bit his lip lightly. "Alright... I'll have to enter their names one-by-one into the database, so this'll take a while..." A few minutes later, they had whittled down the list of Schmucker's co-workers down to about ten or so.

"How many of them had permits issued ten years ago or earlier?" Bartholomew asked.

"Hmmm..." Snooper looked over the permits. "Only three of them, looks like..."

"Th-the murder weapon w-was a .38 c-caliber, i-if I remember right," Rei offered.

As luck would have it, only one of the three was permitted to carry that caliber of weapon. "Here's your guy," Pericles announced. "Donald Korsak, age 39." Bringing up his profile, the picture showed a man with short black hair, black eyes, and a small but bushy mustache.

"D-does it s-say how t-tall he is?" Rei asked.

"About 4' 7", it says," the detective replied.

"Same height as Peterman," Bart observed. "Well, this makes Mr. Korsak a definite person of interest in this case... Do you have his address?"

"Let's see..." Snooper hummed as he scrolled down. "Here it is... uh-oh."

"W-what's wrong?" Rei asked.

"This address isn't current," the detective shook his head. "I know this place, it got razed to the ground a few years back for a community garden." Turning in his chair, he stated, "It's gonna take me a while to run down his current address, so you guys may as well head back to your office. I'll give ya a call once I've got something..."

"Of course," Bart nodded. "But before we go, could you print off a copy of the gun permit? It may be useful as evidence later..."

"Sure thing," Detective Pericles nodded, turning back to the computer to do just that...

*Korsak's Weapons Permit added to the Court Record.*

 _March 28, 2:17 PM_

 _Samson & Co. Law Offices_

"Well, it seems we're still at a bit of an impasse," Bartholomew noted. "The excavation of the Avalon Hotel's basement section most likely won't yield anything until tomorrow, and we don't know where to find Donald Korsak. The trial will most likely have to be delayed until the day after tomorrow..."

"W-well, th-that shouldn't b-be a p-problem, should it?" Rei asked uncertainly.

"Hopefully not," Bart said, "but as I'm sure I've told you, in Lowee's court system, all trials have to be wrapped up in three days or less, one way or the other. It was introduced a few years ago as a way to speed up the process due to massive amounts of case backlog..."

"What?!" Rei gasped. "B-but d-doesn't th-that make it almost impossible f-for any d-defendant t-to have a f-fair t-trial?!"

"Indeed," the senior attorney bowed his head. "It's part of the reason my father moved down here from Leanbox, in order to fight what he saw as a blatantly corrupt legal system. And now I follow in his footsteps..."

"Is... i-is he not around a-anymore?" Rei inquired hesitantly.

"Died of pneumonia a few years back," Bart confirmed. "As for my mother, she moved back to Leanbox after the funeral. I suppose they couldn't adapt to Lowee's colder climate very well... Mind you, Mother and I still remain in contact, I send her flowers from Iris Field every birthday and Mother's Day..."

"I see... th-that's nice of you, Mr. Samson..." Rei smiled. "I d-don't hope t-to be a replacement for y-your f-father, b-but I hope I c-can at least not b-be a hindrance t-to you..."

"You're already doing quite well, if you ask me," Bartholomew shook his head with a smile. "If I can boast about anything, it's that I'm an excellent judge of character... that's why I believe most of my clients are innocent. And even if they turn out to be guilty in the end, I can at least be assured they received a fair representation if nothing else." He put a hand on Rei's shoulder. "That's why I hired you to begin with... because I could tell that the stories about you were quite exaggerated... and when you told me about having no recollection of what you did as a CPU, I could tell you were being honest. It takes quite a clever and conniving person to pull the wool over my eyes..."

"...Th... Th-thank you, Mr. Samson," Rei sighed in gratitude, trying to hold back tears. "I j-just hope you're right about me... for P-Paul Peterman's sake."

 _*To be continued...*_

Hope this one was worth the wait... review!


	6. Investigation, Day 3

Sorry for the schedule slip, but I finally buckled down and got this chapter finished...

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Investigation- Day 3

Court Record:

Crime Scene Photos

Crime Scene Diagram

Testimony Notes

Avalon Hotel Work Permit

Korsak's Weapons Permit

 _March 29, 8:37 AM_

 _Samson & Co. Law Offices_

The phone rang, Rei picking up almost immediately. "Samson Law Offices, Rei speaking."

"Ah, Miss Ryghts," the voice on the other end spoke, "It's Prosecutor Millhouse. I called to ask if you and Bart could come down to my office at your earliest convenience."

"D-did you f-find out something a bout y-your mentor?" Rei inquired curiously.

"Well... yes and no. It's a bit difficult to explain over the phone though..."

"Okay," Rei nodded. "I'll t-tell Mr. Sampson and hopefully w-we c-can be d-down there right away..."

 _March 29, 9:19 AM_

 _High Prosecutor's Office_

 _Room 1307_

Bartholomew knocked politely at the door. "Mike, it's Bart. You there?"

"Come in," Mike's voice was heard, Bart promptly entering with Rei at his side. "Shut the door, please." Rei promptly did so.

"So what did you find out?" Bart asked.

Millhouse heaved a sigh, before standing up from behind his desk. "Well, I'll be blunt with you- turns out, Clarence Robarts... mostly likely used a false name."

"F-false name?!" Rei gasped. "Y-you mean, he w-wasn't who he s-said he was...?!"

"I couldn't find anything from before he started at the Prosecutor's Office," Mike elaborated. "The only thing I was able to find... was this class roster from about 20 years ago. Except the name is 'Roberts', not 'Robarts'. According to the roster he got a D- on his midterms, then withdrew from the class completely..."

"That doesn't sound like Clarence at all," Bartholomew interrupted. "His knowledge of law was impeccable..."

"I know," Mike nodded. "So I tracked down this Clarence Roberts... turns out he now runs a demolition company on the other side of the city." He held up a picture of the man in question. "As you can see, he looks nothing like the prosecutor we all know..."

"I don't believe it..." Bart gaped in disbelief. "But why would your mentor go so far to hide his past?!"

"I can't say," Mike shook his head. "But this class roster is a potential list of suspects who might know the truth about my mentor's identity... on that note, you can have this copy."

*Old Class Roster added to the Court Record.*

Rei took the paper and began reading through it... "Hmm... Jason Bork, Casey Dodge, Robert Falwell, George Hartmann... S-so if any o-of th-these p-people t-turns out t-to be Dean Schmucker's lawyer f-from t-ten years ago, it w-would explain why y-your mentor had t-to have Peterman t-take the f-fall..."

"But there's not enough time to look at all these people before the trial resumes tomorrow," Bartholomew pointed out.

"I'm well aware of that, Bart," Millhouse sighed... just then, the phone rang, the prosecutor quickly picking up. "Millhouse. ...Oh, really? Excellent work. We'll be over right away." He then hung up. "That was the forensics team at the Avalon Hotel excavation site... it seems they've found something."

"S-shall we head over t-to the hotel, then?" Rei said.

 _March 29, 10:07 AM_

 _Avalon Hotel_

 _Front Parking Lot- Excavation Site_

Rei, Bart and Mike ducked under the tape as they walked to where the excavators were working. "You said you found something?" Millhouse asked the head worker.

"Yeah, a pair of hands," the NPC nodded. "Looks like they're pulling out the rest of the body now..." At that moment one of the excavators turned, revealing something that had no doubt once been a human.

Unfortunately for Rei, upon seeing the badly-decomposed corpse, her breakfast suddenly reversed direction, expelling out of her mouth and onto the street as she doubled over, along with a fair amount of stomach acid.

"Oh my Goddess! Rei, are you all right?!" Bartholomew gasped in concern, placing a hand on his protege's back.

"First time seeing a dead body," Mike observed. "Never a pleasant experience for anyone..." Turning, he shouted, "Hey! Someone get this lady some water!"

Meanwhile, Bart had turned Rei away from the grisly scene, rubbing her back. "Don't think about the body, Rei. Think of something else. Cute things. Flowers. Puppies and kittens."

"O-okay," Rei coughed. Thinking about those things did seem to help a little... then a demolition worker came by with a half-full water bottle, which the horned woman gratefully accepted, taking a long pull and several swallows. "Th-thank you..."

"Well, it seems the shirt he's wearing is consistent with the uniform that Fourth Third Bank tellers wore ten years ago," Millhouse observed. "We'll have to take dental records to be sure, but there's a very good probability that this is our murder victim, Rich Clark." Turning back to Bartholomew and Rei, he said, "Look, Bart, how about you take Rei back to your office and take an early lunch or something? I'll get the body down to the ME right away, and I'll call you when I have an autopsy report."

"Sounds good, Mike," Bart nodded in agreement. "Come on, Rei, let's go back and I'll get you some soup to eat."

"Okay..." the former goddess nodded, still a little queasy. (Puppies and kittens, puppies and kittens...)

 _March 29, 11:11 AM_

 _Samson & Co. Law Offices_

*ring, ring* "Samson Law Offices, Rei speaking."

"Hey, Miss Ryghts, it's Detective Snooper," the voice on the other end replied.

"Oh, Detective! Did you find Korsak-" the woman abruptly belched loudly, her stomach still not completely settled. "O-oh no! I'm sorry! So, so very sorry! I d-didn't mean to-!"

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Snooper assured her. "Not the worst thing I've heard over the phone, believe me... Anyway, yeah, I found Korsak's current address. I was about to go over there to question him, but I thought maybe it'd be a good idea to bring you along... maybe you could use your final boss rep to make him talk if he clams up..."

(Honestly, I'd rather not...) Rei thought to herself, before recalling what Millhouse had told her yesterday... "W-well, I suppose I c-could d-do that... th-though I hope I won't have t-to."

"For what it's worth, I hope not either," Snooper agreed. "Alright then, I'll be there in a few minutes..."

 _March 29, 11:39 AM_

 _Donald Korsak's Residence_

The unmarked police car pulled up and parked in front of a small, nondescript grey house, Rei and Detective Pericles getting out. "S-so this is th-the p-place?" the former goddess asked.

"Yep," Snooper nodded. "Now we just gotta see if he's home, and hopefully convince him to testify in court tomorrow..." The duo walked up to the door, Snooper knocking three times. "Hello, anyone home?" There was no response.

"I g-guess he's n-not home..." Rei sighed in mild disappointment. "Should we t-try b-back later...?"

 _"Freeze!"_ A male voice suddenly spoke up from behind the two, who quickly turned to see a short, dark haired man pointing a .38 revolver at them. "Whadaya think you're doin'?"

"Whoa, whoa, easy," Snooper raised his arms in a defensive gesture. "You're Donald Korsak, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," the man confirmed. "Who're you?"

"Leanbox City Police, Homicide," the detective replied. "We just wanted to ask you some questions..."

"Like I'm supposed to believe ya?" Korsak retorted. "There's been a rash of thefts 'round here lately, how do I know you ain't thieves tryin' to get in my house?!"

(He's not listening to reason!) Rei thought desperately. (At this rate we're both going to be shot dead...!) Then suddenly an idea came to her, taking a deep breath as her expression changed from fear to disdain. "Worthless maggot, why would we want your money? Do you even know who I am, fool?!"

Korsak's eyes narrowed briefly. "...now that ya mention it, I think I have seen ya before somewhere... but where?"

"Try the final boss of _Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory_ , worm."

"What...? _AHHHHHH!"_ Korsak took a step back in shock and disbelief. "R-R-R-R-Rei Ryghts?!"

"Bingo," the horned woman grinned sinisterly. "You pathetic little man, thinking that puny gun will save you from the likes of me! So, let me ask you..." She leaned forward slightly. "Do you feel lucky, punk? _Do you?"_

"Uhhhh..." The man took a step back, then another... "No. No I do not! _Lemme outta heeeeeere!"_ With a cry of fear, he turned and bolted, jumping into his car and peeling off, leaving tire tread markings on the pavement.

As soon as he was gone, Rei collapsed to her knees, heaving a huge sigh of relief. "Th-thank g-goodness he d-didn't c-call my b-bluff..."

"...geez, remind me never to bump into you in a dark alley," Snooper shook his head. "Even if it _was_ just an act... Well, anyway, looks like this was a bust. Might as well go back to Millhouse and tell 'im what happened... probably gonna get a pay cut for botching things up..."

 _March 29, 12:18 PM_

 _High Prosecutor's Office_

 _Room 1307_

"I-I'm so very sorry!" Rei bowed repentantly. "I-it was my f-fault Mr. K-Korsak went into th-the wind! Snooper d-doesn't d-deserve any of the b-blame..."

"All right, enough," Millhouse held up a hand. "It's touching of you to stick up for Detective Pericles like this, but it's not necessary."

"Y-you mean you're NOT cutting my pay for this?" Snooper asked incredulously.

"It's not your fault Korsak got the jump on you," the prosecutor shook his head. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he intended to ambush you... after all, Dean Schmucker could have used his one phone call to tell his partner the jig was up."

"He d-did seem t-to show up rather q-quickly..." Rei mused. "S-so now what d-do we do?"

Just then the desk phone rang. "Millhouse," the prosecutor answered. "...Oh, good. Tell the ME thanks for the rush job. I'll send Detective Pericles over right away." He then hung up. "That was the ME's office, the autopsy report's ready. Detective, if you could go down there and get two copies, one for me and one for Miss Ryghts..."

"Yessir, Mr. Millhouse!" Snooper saluted, before marching off happily.

Once he was gone, Rei couldn't help but ask, "S-so why d-does he g-get his p-pay c-cut all the t-time anyway?"

Mike heaved a sigh at this. "Well, the thing about Detective Pericles is, he's competent enough to not get fired outright, but incompetent enough that he gets used often as a scapegoat by... prosecutors with lower standards, shall we say. If it gets shown that evidence was lost during a trial, or even worse, outright forged, the prosecutor can just point at Snooper and say 'It's not my fault, that stupid detective is the one who messed up! I'll cut his pay for this screw-up!' Or something along those lines, anyway..."

"Th-that's t-terrible!" Rei gasped in disbelief. "D-doesn't he ever c-complain?!"

"Oh, he complains plenty," Millhouse muttered, "but even if disciplinary action is taken, the prosecutor usually only gets off with a slap on the wrist. That's just the way it is around here... which is why I've been trying to change things from within the system. But it's been a very uphill fight... one I often undertake alone." He then looked Rei in the eye. "That being said, Bart has helped out too, by usually managing to get acquittals in spite of the high odds... but he's still only one man. That's why I hope you can follow in his footsteps... There are several prosecutors who are *ahem* smart enough not to engage the great Bartholomew J. Sampson in the courtroom... but they might let their guard down with you."

"Y-you don't say..." the former goddess grunted, her heart feeling heavy with the expectations placed on her. "W-with all d-due respect, sir, I th-think I'm g-going to t-take things one c-case at a t-time..."

"That's fine," Millhouse nodded. "But hopefully, if this case comes to a satisfactory conclusion, it will convince more potential clients to take a chance with you... that's why I decided to have you handle the mock trial to begin with. Though I certainly didn't expect this case to have so many twists and turns..." His phone then rang again. "Millhouse. ...What's that now? Oh, you're Donald Korsak's lawyer?" Rei jerked her head up slightly at hearing this. "Yes. Yes, I see... Look, I'm sorry for what happened with Rei Ryghts, but she believed her life was in danger... No, no, I understand... I assume you're calling about your client testifying in court? Well, tomorrow is the last day allowed, you know... That hardly seems fair, Mr.- ...No, she's not like that in the courtroom, unless the witness is lying to her face... *sigh* Alright, fine, I'll agree to your terms. ...great, thanks. Goodbye." He hung up, sighing and shaking his head.

"S-so wh-what's g-going on?" Rei asked. "A-am I in t-trouble...?"

"It's nothing like that..." the cobalt-haired man shook his head again. "Simply put, Donald Korsak's lawyer agreed to have him testify tomorrow, but on one condition..."

"A-and that is...?"

"He reserves the right to end the cross-examination at any time, if he feels his client is being unnecessarily harassed or badgered, be it by the defense or the prosecution."

"What the hell?! That's not fair!" Rei suddenly cried. "What if that _worm_ decides to cut me off just when I've caught that damned gunslinging midget in a lie?!"

Millhouse did a double take at the abrupt shift in personality. _"...Language,_ Miss Ryghts. But for what it's worth, I agree with you... but it was either this, or no testimony. And he used your earlier scare of Korsak as justification for the condition..."

"Grrrr..." the ex-villain stomped her foot in frustration. "That sleaze had better be grateful that I can't transform anymore, because otherwise I'd be _seriously_ tempted!" Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Prosecutor Millhouse?" Snooper poked his head in. "I got the autopsy reports you requested..."

"Good work, Detective," the prosecutor nodded as he took his copy, Rei being handed one as well.

*Autopsy Report added to the Court Record.*

"H-hopefully the d-descriptions aren't t-too graphic..." Rei said as she looked the report over.

"They usually aren't, unless the manner of death was particularly gruesome..." Mike stated as read over his copy. "Dental records confirm that our dead man is Rich Clark... .38 caliber slug recovered from the body... skeletal analysis confirms he was shot at least twice..."

"Th-that's consistent with wh-what Mr. Peterman t-told me..." Rei nodded. "Too bad for you, worm, this definitively disproves your theory that the body was disposed at sea by my client..."

"I wish you wouldn't shift personalities so quickly..." Millhouse muttered. "Then again, given the trauma you suffered from your transformation into a CPU..."

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the former goddess apologized. "I-it j-just happens sometimes...!"

"...Guess it's something we'll just have to get used to, then, huh?" Snooper observed. "So, anything else I can do, sir?"

"You can take Miss Ryghts back to Bart's office," Mike instructed. "So she and Bart can go over their strategy for court tomorrow... At the very least, I hope we can end the undeserved suffering that Peterman's gone though due to my mentor's _faux pas_ ten years ago..."

"I h-hope so t-too," Rei agreed. "S-see you in c-court t-tomorrow, then..." With that, she left with Snooper...

 _To be continued..._

Next, the final day of trial... review!


	7. Trial, Final Day

It's a miracle! I finally finished this chapter! Only the epilogue remains...

And now, at long last... ON WITH THE SHOW!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Trial- Final Day

Court Record:

Crime Scene Photos

Crime Scene Diagram

Testimony Notes

Avalon Hotel Work Permit

Korsak's Weapons Permit

Old Class Roster

Autopsy Report

 _March 30, 9:50 AM_

 _District Court_

 _Defendant Lobby No. 1_

"Ya found the body?!" Peterman almost couldn't believe his ears. "And it was under th'hotel like you said?!"

"Th-that's right," Rei nodded. "The autopsy c-confirmed it was Rich C-Clark..."

"So that means I'm innocent!" the fisherman declared. "I wasn't anywhere near that place that day! So why's th'trial still goin' on?!"

"B-because P-Prosecutor Millhouse and I w-want to figure out th-the whole t-truth b-behind th-this case..." The lawyer then explained about Clarence Robarts' forged identity...

"Are you sayin' I was set up?!" Paul growled angrily. "Just 'cause that bastard didn't wanna risk his career?! I suffered for ten years- TEN YEARS just 'cause of one man's pride!"

 _"YOU LISTEN, MAGGOT!"_ Rei suddenly shouted, causing her client to recoil slightly. "You might not have a high opinion of Mr. Robarts, but Millhouse does! That's why he wants to get to the bottom of this! Yes, your acquittal may be all but assured, worm, but I don't need you being held in contempt and throwing all my hard work away, just because you couldn't control your temper! _Do I make myself clear, fool?!"_

Peterman seemed to be somewhat cowed by Rei's sudden outburst. "Ugh... a-all right, all right... I admit I gotta hair-trigger temper sometimes... But, I'll try to rein m'self in."

"Good." Rei nodded curtly. "Just keep your mouth shut and leave things to me, and you'll be fine. Besides... don't you want to see the _real_ shooter go down for his crimes?"

"I would _love_ t'see that," Paul agreed. "You're sayin' y'know who he is?"

"W-we have a p-pretty good idea of wh-who the c-culprit could be," Rei said as she reverted to her timid personality. "He's b-being b-brought in t-to t-testify t-today..."

"He is?! Well, why didn't ya say so in the first place?!" Peterman muttered.

"M-Miss Ryghts, court is about to begin," the bailiff abruptly interrupted, sounding a bit nervous. "W-would you kindly bring the defendant with you a-and take your seat at the bench?"

"Oh, c-certainly," the former goddess assented. "I-I'm sorry if I s-scared you b-back there..."

 _March 30, 10:00 AM_

 _District Court_

 _Courtroom No. 1_

The judge banged his gavel. "Court is now in session for the trial of Paul Peterman."

"The d-defense is ready, Your Honor," Rei acknowledged.

"It's a day later than I would have liked, but the prosecution is at last prepared to proceed," Millhouse said.

"Indeed. And this is the last day allotted for trial," the judge observed. "One way or another, a verdict has to be rendered today, so both sides will need to present solid evidence with their arguments."

"I-I understand," Rei nodded.

"Very well then. Prosecutor Millhouse, your opening statement," the judge instructed.

"Yes, Your Honor," Millhouse assented. "In the previous court session, it was suggested that Rich Clark's body was not disposed of at sea, but rather, buried underneath the foundation of the Avalon Hotel, which was still under construction at the time of the murder. So, after getting approval from the manager, I had a demolition company excavate the hotel's basement."

"And was your search fruitful?" asked the judge.

"It was indeed," Millhouse nodded with a slight smile. "We found human remains beneath one of the cement pillars, wearing a shirt consistent with the uniform of Fourth Third Bank that was used ten years ago. The autopsy confirmed via dental records that it was indeed our murder victim, Rich Clark." The gallery started muttering in mild disbelief at this.

"Order!" the judge banged his gavel. "Well then! If Rich Clark's body was there this whole time... doesn't that completely destroy the prosecution's case against Mr. Peterman?!"

"I suppose so, Your Honor," Mike nodded. "That being said..." He slapped a hand on the bench. "This trial cannot come to an end just yet, for there are still too many unanswered questions in this case! Questions that can only be answered with further deliberation!"

"Such as?" the judge blinked.

"For starters, the most obvious question... who truly murdered Rich Clark in that alley ten years ago? We know it cannot be Dean Schmucker, as he is too tall to match the forensic evidence."

"W-which means it had to be someone else!" Rei declared as she slammed her fists on her bench. "A th-third person! One that Schmucker lied t-to c-cover for!" The gallery muttered a little.

"But who could that be?" the judge mused, his eyes closed in thought. "One of Dean Schmucker's old co-workers, perhaps?"

"Indeed, they would be the most likely suspects," Millhouse nodded. "So I had Detective Pericles look into it, and he found a possible person of interest. So after discussing things with his lawyer, said person agreed to come in to testify. Bailiff, if you would bring in the witness?"

"Yessir, Prosecutor!" the NPC saluted, walking out of the courtroom, then walking back in a minute later with Donald Korsak in tow, as well as a middle-aged lawyer with slicked-back black hair, black eyes, and a black suit that made him look as if he had all the money in the world.

(That must be the sleaze lawyer Millhouse had to strike a deal with,) Rei thought to herself in mild disgust. Said lawyer whispered into Korsak's ear briefly, the short man nodding before taking the stand, climbing onto a step-stool to make himself more visible to the gallery.

"Witness, please state your name and occupation," Millhouse instructed.

Giving a brief glance over at Rei, the man replied, "Donald Korsak. I work as middle-management for Lowee General Construction." He then shuddered before blurting out, "So why didn't anyone tell me Rei Ryghts was the defense for this case?!"

"Is there a problem, Mr. Korsak?" the judge inquired.

"Yeah, like the fact that she scared the crap outta me yesterday!" Korsak shouted, causing the gallery to chatter.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry!" Rei apologized. "B-but you p-pointed a g-gun in my face! I was s-scared f-for my life!"

"Order! Order in the court!" the judge banged his gavel. "Is this true, Mr. Korsak?"

"My client admits he acted rashly yesterday," Korsak's lawyer abruptly spoke up. "He was paranoid about multiple thefts in his neighborhood, though that does not excuse his actions. Isn't that right, Don?"

The short man heaved a sigh. "Yeah, yeah, OK... I'm sorry I pointed a gun at you, all right?"

"...Apology accepted," Rei said after a moment.

"Excellent," Millhouse stated. "Now that _that's_ all settled, could you testify to the court, Mr. Korsak? Specifically, about the actions of your co-worker, Dean Schmucker, from ten years ago."

"Ugh, ten years... that's a long time," Korsak complained. "But, I'll try to see what I can remember..."

(Anything he says is most likely going to be a lie,) thought Rei. (But I'll bet his lawyer coached him beforehand... this won't be easy.)

"So let's see, the day that bank clerk was killed..." the short man folded his arms in thought. "Dean left as soon as our shift was over, but I chose to stay behind to take care of some other things... About a half-hour later, he calls me, all freaked out... all I could make out was that he saw a murder, so I told him to come back and tell me in person what happened, which he did. I helped him get in touch with a lawyer, and took him to said lawyer's office, and they went off to the police station together. That's about all I know."

"Hmm..." the judge mused. "It sounds as if you and Mr. Schmucker are quite close with each other..."

"We've been buds since high school," Korsak affirmed. "The Dynamic Duo, Dean & Don, that's what they called us."

"I see, I see," the bald man nodded. "Miss Ryghts, your cross-examination."

"Y-yes, Your Honor." (So where should I start?) the horned lawyer pondered. "...M-Mr. Korsak, d-do you remember why D-Dean Schmucker was heading over t-to Fourth Th-Third Bank in the f-first p-place?"

"Something about problems with the payroll," the witness answered. "I remember the boss bein' pretty steamed about it... he was all like, 'How can I get this project finished if my workers don't get paid?!' And seein' as Dean was the numbers guy on our team..."

"Indeed, Mr. Schmucker himself said that was why he was sent, to help the victim figure out what went wrong," Millhouse nodded.

"S-so what happened w-with the p-payroll after Mr. C-Clark died?" Rei asked.

"Actually," Korsak sighed, "we ended up losin' the contract outright, and another crew was brought in to finish the job. Not long after, Dean left to pursue a career in accounting, though he and I remained in contact..."

(More like he got the hell out of Dodge before anyone could suspect he was the one skimming off the top!) Rei thought to herself.

"Do you have any other questions for the witness, Miss Ryghts?" Millhouse prodded.

The bluenette nodded in response. "M-Mr. Korsak, when Mr. Schmucker c-came b-back to th-the c-construction site, d-do you know if he c-carrying anything large in his c-car? Like, in th-the t-trunk?"

"Uh..." the witness hesitated for a moment. "N-not to my knowledge..."

"...Is that so?" Rei muttered, before abruptly slamming her fists on the bench. "Sorry, worm, I don't buy it! Because I have evidence that proves otherwise!"

"E-evidence...?" Korsak began to sweat a little. "Whadaya mean, 'evidence'?"

"TAKE THAT!" Rei declared, presenting the autopsy report. "This is an autopsy report for the victim, Rich Clark! And guess where he was found..." She slammed her fists on her bench. "Underneath the foundation of the Avalon Hotel, where you were working ten years ago!"

 _"Ngaaaaaahhh!"_ the short man cried out, pulling at his hair, causing the gallery to start murmuring.

"Perhaps you'd like to revise your testimony, witness?" Millhouse deadpanned. "After all, your friend Dean Schmucker is currently sitting in jail for lying under oath..."

"Argh!" Korsak grunted, looking over at his lawyer, who simply gave him a grim nod. "O-okay, I admit it! I-I left something out!"

"Order! Order!" the judge banged his gavel. "Mr. Korsak, you're on thin ice here. I will give you _one_ more chance to testify truthfully..."

"Y-yessir, Your Honor!" the man nodded.

"Now then, please tell the court what you 'left out.'"

"Right..." Korsak took a deep breath to calm himself. "OK... the truth is... when Dean came back to the construction site... he had something in a large sack in his trunk. He told me he needed it hidden at all costs... s-so I got one of the excavators, and we buried it underneath where a concrete pillar was going to be poured." He heaved a sigh. "I kinda had a feeling about what was in that sack... b-but I didn't want to believe it... I didn't think Dean would've ever been capable of such a thing..."

"...so in other words, you went into denial and willingly turned a blind eye," Millhouse summarized.

"I-I know, it was wrong of me... b-but Dean's my friend, ya know?" Korsak grunted.

"You do realize that because of your silence, an innocent man may have been sent to prison?" The judge shook his head in disappointment. "Miss Ryghts, your cross-examination."

"Y-yes, Your Honor." (That was a pretty good performance... but he's really just throwing Schmucker under the bus to save his own hide. But he's not getting away with it!) Rei vowed. "Mr. Korsak, a-are you aware th-that the forensics indicate th-that th-the shooter was s-someone sh-short in stature?"

"Really...?" the witness muttered. "W-well, maybe Dean got on his knees when he shot the guy... Y'know, to throw off the police..."

"Or maybe YOU shot him!" Rei accused. "After all, Dean Schmucker is not licensed to carry a firearm... but you _are!"_

"Oh, come on!" Korsak protested. "Yes, I have a gun, but that doesn't prove I shot anyone!"

"But I have proof! TAKE THAT!" The former goddess declared as she presented Korsak's weapons permit. "Your permit authorizes you to carry a .38-caliber firearm... the same caliber as the bullet that killed Mr. Clark! And you were the only one on the construction crew authorized for that type of firearm ten years ago!"

 _"Ngooooohh!"_ Korsak pulled at his hair again.

"OBJECTION!" Korsak's lawyer abruptly interrupted. "Alright, that's enough. Don, step down. You're done."

"Excuse me?" the judge asked with a hint of anger in his voice. "Just who gave _you_ the right to end a cross-examination?"

"Actually... I did, Your Honor," Millhouse solemnly admitted. "In exchange for Mr. Korsak's testimony, his lawyer reserved the right to end the examination if he felt his client was being unnecessarily badgered..."

"Wh-whaaaat?!" the bald man gasped in disbelief. "Prosecutor Millhouse, you cut a deal behind the scenes? YOU, of all people?!" The gallery started chattering at this...

"Come now, Your Honor," Korsak's lawyer spoke up, "I think I'm well within my rights here to protect my client from the likes of former villains like Miss Ryghts here. Especially given what happened between them yesterday..."

"I-I said I was s-sorry...!" Rei bowed her head in shame.

"Hmmm... But wasn't it your client who was the first to make an aggressive gesture?" the judge pondered. "In light of that, this hardly seems like a fair deal, Mr... I'm sorry, what was your name, again? I don't believe you've introduced yourself..."

"Ah, yes, forgive me," the black-suited lawyer nodded. "My name is Casey Dodge, attorney-at-law." He then turned to Rei. "Now then, Miss Ryghts, you're clearly a rookie, so let me give you some advice, lawyer to lawyer... As I'm sure you've been told, evidence is everything in a court of law. But the evidence you've presented is only circumstantial- far from decisive."

"H-how's that?" the horned woman inquired.

"Well, for starters, while it's true that my client carries a .38-caliber gun, and has for over ten years, that doesn't prove it's the murder weapon," Dodge explained. "Unless you can match the rifling patterns on the bullet that killed Rich Clark to Donald's weapon, any assertions you make are but conjecture."

"Urk..." Rei grunted. (Much as I hate to admit it, he's got a point...)

"And one other thing," Casey continued, "you also have no proof that my client was anywhere near the scene of the crime at the time of the murder. The only one you can prove that was there was his friend, Dean Schmucker, on account of his firsthand testimony."

Rei blinked a few times as something suddenly occurred to her. "...speaking of Dean Schmucker, th-there's something I w-wanted to ask you about th-that, Mr. Dodge."

"Oh?" the elder attorney looked intrigued. "I don't really see the relevance, but as your senior, I'll allow you to pick my mind..."

(Talk about arrogant!) Rei thought to herself. "W-well, Mr. Korsak said in his t-testimony th-that he h-helped Schmucker g-get an attorney t-to represent him when he t-testified at th-the original t-trial... W-was that you, b-by any ch-chance?"

"Ah," Dodge bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Well, in the interest of full disclosure... yes, I was indeed Mr. Schmucker's representation ten years ago, at Don's request. Mr. Korsak and I have had a working relationship for many years..."

"I see," Millhouse spoke up. "So in other words, _you're_ the attorney that told Dean Schmucker to lie under oath ten years ago?"

Dodge jerked his head up at this. "E-excuse me?!"

Mike picked up a piece of paper. "You see, when Miss Ryghts proved that Schmucker had been lying about where he'd been standing at the time of the murder, the witness had this to say:"

("I-it was my lawyer... he told me not to say where I'd been actually standing. He was all like, 'If you tell those guys you were standin' next to the guy who pulled the trigger, they'll finger you as the accomplice for sure!' S-so, that's why I lied!")

"WH- _WHAT?!"_ Dodge cried in shock, starting to sweat. "Why that big, ungrateful, conniving-! He dares to throw *me* under the bus like that?! ME, of all people?!" The gallery chattered at this.

"Order! Order! Order in the court!" The judge declared as he banged his gavel several times. "Well, Mr. Dodge? Is this true? Did you in fact, suborn perjury?"

"Of course it's not true!" the veteran attorney protested. "What I told Schmucker was not to say anything about where he'd been standing if he wasn't specifically asked! That's perfectly within the realm of the law, Your Honor! It's not MY fault he misinterpreted my instructions to mean, 'Lie about where you were standing'! That's on him, not me!" The audience murmured somewhat in apparent disapproval.

"And yet you let his lie stand after the fact," Millhouse observed. "That would be extremely neglectful at best..."

"I was young and green back then!" Casey countered. "Look, refer me to the Ethics Committee if you wish, but I did nothing criminal!"

The judge banged his gavel to try and settle things down. "I do agree with Mr. Dodge in one aspect- what he did wasn't criminal. But it was quite unethical!"

(Not criminal?) Rei thought. (Maybe not in that particular instance, but... if Casey Dodge is who I think he is, we might just be scratching the surface here!) "I-I'm so very sorry f-for g-getting you in t-trouble, Mr. D-Dodge... th-that wasn't m-my intention..."

"It's fine, Miss Ryghts," Dodge shook his head. "It's not exactly your fault..."

"Th-thank you," the former goddess bowed her head in gratitude. "Th-that b-being said... I d-do have one m-more question... d-did you ever meet with th-the original p-prosecutor f-for the c-case?"

The black-suited attorney blinked, slightly nonplussed. "The original prosecutor? You mean Clarence Roberts? Well, of course I met with him, to make sure we had my client's testimony in order..."

"OBJECTION!" Rei suddenly shouted. "The man's name is **Robarts** , not Roberts!"

"OBJECTION!" Millhouse retorted. "Come now, Miss Ryghts, is such a small discrepancy really worth objecting over?"

"As a matter of fact, it is!" the lawyer asserted. "I don't believe that mistake was just a random slip of the tongue! And I can prove it!"

"Hmm..." the judge pondered. "While I don't quite see the relevance, Miss Ryghts seems quite confident, so I'll allow her to proceed. Now, show us your proof."

"Thank you, Your Honor. TAKE THAT!" Rei declared, presenting the old class roster. "This is a Phoenix Law School class roster from 20 years ago. IF you read over it, you'll see Casey Dodge's name is on the roster... as well as Clarence Roberts!" Prosecutor Millhouse gasped at this, his eyes going wide in realization. "However, _this_ Clarence Roberts dropped out and currently runs a demolition company!"

"...I'm afraid I still don't see the relevance," the judge shook his head.

"Then allow me, Your Honor," Millhouse spoke up. "It has recently come to the prosecution's attention that Clarence Robarts may have been, in fact, using a fabricated identity. Because when we tried to look into his past before joining the Prosecutor's office..." He slapped one hand on the bench. "This old class roster was the only thing we could find!"

"WH-WHAAAAAAAAATT?!" The judge screamed in utter shock. "C-Clarence Robarts... _a false identity?!"_ The gallery began chattering in disbelief at this...

"OBJECTION!" Dodge abruptly shouted. "Again with the circumstantial evidence! Just because Mr. Roberts- I mean, Robarts was using a false name, that doesn't prove that I knew that!"

"But you were Clarence Roberts's classmate way back when!" Rei asserted, slamming her fists on the bench. "So when you sat down with our Prosecutor Robarts, you knew he was a fake! And you used that knowledge to _blackmail_ him!"

"Order! Order! _Order!"_ the judge cried as he gaveled down the audience. "...Well, Mr. Dodge? How do you respond to the defense's assertion?"

"I respond thusly: Is that the best you can do?" Casey Dodge retorted without missing a beat.

"Wh... what?" Rei gaped in disbelief. (How can he counter-argue that...?!)

"All you've proven is that I've gotten Prosecutor Robarts' name confused with my old dropout classmate's from law school," the black-haired lawyer pointed out. "Both 'Clarence' and 'Roberts' aren't exactly uncommon names, Miss Ryghts... Did you ever consider the possibility that the similarity is but mere coincidence, and nothing more?"

"Uh..." Rei sweat-dropped as her ego deflated like a popped balloon.

"Now look here," Casey sighed, "for a rookie lawyer, you've performed quite admirably. But I can tell you're still in your star-struck 'crusading lawyer' phase... you think that you can tie up every case you're handed perfectly with a neat little bow. But that's not how the real world works... sometimes there are some loose ends in a case that are never resolved. But as far as I can see, you've already proven that your client, Paul Peterman, could not have been the one who shot Rich Clark dead ten years ago. If I were you, Miss Ryghts, I'd leave it at that and accept your 'not guilty' verdict."

The judge nodded grimly at this. "I have to admit, Mr. Dodge has a point. We do seem to have strayed considerably from our purpose here... While the fact that Prosecutor Robarts might have forged his identity is more than a little disturbing, it really doesn't seem to have any relevance to the case at hand..."

(No...!) thought Rei in despair. (Where... where did I go wrong? I thought I had this case solved! Completely! But all I did was destroy the reputation of Mike Millhouse's mentor, with nothing to show for it!) She bowed her head and closed her eyes, on the verge of tears... (I'm so sorry, Mr. Millhouse, Mr. Samson... I couldn't live up to your expectations...)

But just then, as the judge was about to render his verdict...

 **"HOLD IT!"**

Rei's head jerked up as the courtroom doors slammed open, Snooper rushing to the witness stand, looking a bit out of breath. "M... Mr. Millhouse!"

 _"Detective Pericles!_ Can't you see we're in the middle of trial?! You can't just barge in like that!" Millhouse scolded his subordinate. "Stunts like these are why your salary keeps getting cut...!"

"I'm really sorry, sir, but this couldn't wait!" Snooper apologized. "I decided to look at the other names on that old class roster you found, and I hit pay dirt! Take a look at this!" He held up a large black/white photo. "Look familiar, Prosecutor?"

"Why, that's... it's Clarence Robarts!" the judge gasped. "A bit younger then I remember him, though..."

"It's his yearbook photo from Phoenix Law School, Your Honor," the detective explained. "Turns out, his _real_ name is Jason Bork, and he graduated at the top of his class!"

"J-Jason Bork?!" Millhouse gasped, recoiling slightly.

"Ah...!" Casey Dodge gasped, beginning to sweat profusely.

"That's right!" Snooper nodded. "So I looked into his background... turns out, he's got a record. He spent a year in jail for felony assault, but was paroled for good behavior. Not long after, he took out a student loan and entered law school..."

"Felony assault..." Prosecutor Millhouse closed his eyes and chuckled. "I see. Now it finally all makes sense."

"I-it does?" Rei asked in mild confusion.

"Indeed," Mike nodded. "The law couldn't be clearer... 'Persons with felony convictions on their records cannot become prosecutors.' Full stop. Thus, Jason Bork had no choice but to hide his record if he wanted to join the Prosecutor's Office... Thus, he took the name of his dropout former classmate, and changed one letter in the last name to cover his tracks, becoming 'Prosecutor Clarence Robarts.' And due to his impeccable record, no one ever thought to look into his past... until now."

"Nnngh..." Dodge grunted with gritted teeth.

"Hmhmhmhmm... _HAAAA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"_ Rei let loose with an evil laugh. "So much for your claim that Robarts' name was just a coincidence!" she addressed Casey Dodge. "You miserable worm... when you and Schmucker sat down with the prosecutor, you recognized him as your old classmate Jason Bork right away, didn't you?! And you took full advantage of that situation, you sleaze!"

"N-no! I-I didn't...!" Dodge desperately denied, his arms crossed, his hands gripping the sleeves of his suit jacket tightly.

"Oh, but you did!" the former villain asserted with a sinister smirk. "I imagine your exchange went something like this:"

("Now, now, Jason... I'm a fair man. I'm not one to just destroy a man's career willy-nilly... All I'm asking is this: that fisherman was already arrested for the crime, correct? All you have to do is ensure that he's convicted... oh, and also, once that's done, perhaps you might also purge the evidence file? Do this one thing for me, and I swear I'll never bother you again...")

"...so that's why he did a 180..." Paul Peterman muttered under his breath from the defendant's chair. "It all makes sense now..."

"Indeed, the evidence file was purged," Millhouse stated. "Unfortunately for you, Dodge, your classmate couldn't rid himself of that final shred of dignity... so he left one piece of evidence behind: the Avalon Hotel work permit. Not to mention, just before he retired, he put together a mock-trial based on this exact case. And I now believe he did so in the hopes that someday, someone would realize all the contradictions and set things right... How ironic that his design was fulfilled by an ex-villain, of all people."

"M-mock trial...? Work permit...?" Dodge stammered. "Th... that backstabbing... we had a deal...!"

"W-wait... y-you _blackmailed_ the prosecutor?!" Donald Korsak said in disbelief. "Th-that's why y-you were so confident this wouldn't c-come back to us...?!"

(Korsak didn't know?!) Rei pondered, before it hit her. (Wait, of _course_ he didn't know! Plausible deniability! That sleaze had it all figured out, or so he thought...)

"Now that sounds like a confession to me," Millhouse observed. "I'm afraid, Mr. Dodge, that this is far worse than an ethics violation! Blackmail... tampering with evidence... accessory after the fact... and of course, suborning perjury. I'd say you're looking at disbarment at the very least..."

"Disbarment?!" Rei shook her head. "To hell with that! Casey Dodge, you deserve to go to jail for what you pulled!" she pointed dramatically. "Do not pass go, do not collect 200 credits, worm!"

"D-disbarment...? _Jail...?!"_ Dodge grunted as 'Confess the Truth 2009' began to play in the background. "J... **JAASOOOOOONNN!"** he suddenly screamed as he began to literally tear his expensive suit to shreds! "My, my money! My career! My prestige! It's all gone! I'm _finished,_ washed up! Stick a fork in me, I'm _DOOOOOOOONE!"_ He collapsed over the witness stand, now half naked, sobbing his eyes out as pieces of his clothing floated down all around him, the gallery buzzing in shock. Meanwhile, Donald Korsak could only bow his head and clench his fists- he knew it was all over.

(And I thought Trevor Turnaround's breakdown was over the top...) Rei thought, sweating slightly.

"Order! Order! ORRRRRDEEERRR!" the judge screamed as the music faded out, banging his gavel repeatedly...

 _*After a brief recess to calm everyone down...*_

"Well, I must say," the judge shook his head in disbelief, "this was quite the unexpected outcome. Who would have imagined that Clarence Robarts was actually working under a false identity... and that one of his old law school classmates blackmailed him so his clients would escape scot-free? It boggles the mind...!"

"I'm also having trouble believing it, Your Honor," Millhouse agreed. "But the truth isn't always pretty..."

"...so then, what about Casey Dodge?" the robed man inquired.

"Currently being measured for a prison jumpsuit, Your Honor," the prosecutor replied. "He has confessed to his heinous misdeeds. All of them. His only request... was to be isolated from the general population, most likely so Dean & Don won't come after him for revenge. On that note," he continued, "we've also arrested Donald Korsak and confiscated his gun. Though I have little doubt the rifling patterns will match the bullet recovered from the victim's corpse."

"So what about me then?!" Peterman spoke up in mild anger.

"Oh, Mr. Peterman!" the judge exclaimed. "...it has become clear that a grave wrong was perpetrated on you. Though I know no apology will make up for the many years you've suffered... on behalf of the court, I am exceedingly sorry that our justice system failed you. Perhaps, had we thought to question Prosecutor Robarts' record a bit more, it wouldn't taken ten years for your name to be cleared..."

"HA!" the fisherman scoffed. "Robarts can rot in hell for all I care! Or Jason, or whatever his name was..."

 _"*Ahem!*"_ Rei cleared her throat loudly.

"Uh..." Peterman gave a quick glance over to his lawyer. "But, ah, comin' from you, Your Honor... apology accepted."

The bald man nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Well then, I suppose it's time for me to render my verdict and correct the tragic mistake that was made ten years ago."

"On the charge of murder in the first degree, this court hereby finds the defendant, Mr. Paul Peterman..."

 **NOT GUILTY**

The gallery immediately broke into cheers and applause, confetti falling from the ceiling, Peterman suddenly trying hard not to cry as he wiped his face with his forearm... Rei and Mike looked at each other, smiling and nodding in concert. Together, they had found the truth, and justice had finally prevailed.

The judge patiently waited for the cheers to calm down, before declaring, "That is all. This court is adjourned!" He banged his gavel one final time to bring a formal end to proceedings.

 _To be concluded..._

At long last, the trial is done! Read and review!


	8. Epilogue

At last, the flashback and story come to a close...

ON WITH THE SHOW!

Rei Ryghts: Rookie Attorney

The Ten-Year Turnabout

By Derald Snyder

Epilogue

 _March 30, 11:27 AM_

 _District Court_

 _Defendant Lobby No. 1_

"RRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Paul Peterman cried out suddenly. "Finally, after all these years... I'm finally freeeeeeeee!"

"Eeeep!" Rei squeaked. "D-don't scream like th-that! You hurt m-my ears!"

"Sorry 'bout that..." the fisherman muttered. "It's just, I'd never thought this day'd actually come! It's like I'm dreamin'... _OW!_ What'd'ya pinch me for?!"

"T-to confirm you're n-not d-dreaming," Rei pointed out. Just then, the door opened, a tall boy with black hair running in, dressed in fisherman's gear.

"Pa!" he shouted. "I saw th' verdict! I'm so glad yer finally innocent!"

Peterman's eyes went wide on seeing the young man. "...Luke? My boy, is that you?! You... you've gone and grown up on me, son..." Tears started to well in his eyes...

"Well, it has been ten years since w'last saw each other," Luke responded. "But only b'cause Ma wouldn't let m'see ya... But no matter what she said, I never believed it, not for a moment. I knew in m'heart you didn't kill that man... Ya yell and scream and holler, but ya never hurt anyone..."

"Ha... ha ha ha..." Paul laughed as he removed his glasses to wipe his eyes. "I don't think I've ever been so happy in m'life..."

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Peterman," Michael Millhouse said as he walked into the lobby. "It gladdens me to know that I was able to set right this gross miscarriage of justice that my mentor inflicted on you..."

"Yeah?" said the fisherman as he slid his glasses back on, a hint of his anger returning. "Well maybe ya oughta learn from his mistake, so YOU don't blackmailed by some sleaze lawyer! If ya got any skeletons in your closet, it'd be best to come clean with 'em now, so they can't be used against ya!"

"Trust me, there are no skeletons in my closet, to my knowledge," Millhouse replied.

"So can I take Pa home now?" Luke asked.

"Not quite yet," the prosecutor shook his head. "There's still some paperwork to be filed and processed... but I promise, by tomorrow afternoon, your father should be a free man once again."

"Hmph," Peterman snorted. "Well, I s'pose after ten years, what's one more day?"

"That's the spirit, Pa!" Luke nodded with a wide smile. "And, ah, Miss Ryghts... seriously, I gotta thank ya for takin' on my Pa's case. No other lawyer woulda had the gumption ta do what you just did... sending' one of yer own to prison! I always thought lawyers were a bunch sleazes who covered for each other..."

"W-well, I'm n-not exactly th-the most sociable p-person t-to begin with..." Rei mutted as she tapped her index fingers together. Raising her head up, she continued, "But there's no way in hell I would associate with a pathetic _maggot_ like that Casey Dodge!" The sudden change caused Luke to take a step back in shock...

"You're doing it again, Miss Ryghts..." Millhouse sighed and shook his head.

"Huh? Oh no! I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean it!"

"In the meantime... Mr. Luke, was it?" the prosecutor turned to Paul's son. "Maybe you should shop for some fresh clothes for your father to change into when he is released tomorrow... And I promise to call you when he's let out."

"Okay, sure thing!" Luke nodded. "Don't you worry, Pa! I'll be right there t'take ya back t'my home, and then ya can start gettin' yer life back together! See ya tomorrow!" He gave his father a hug before walking out of the lobby.

"See ya, tomorrow, son..." Peterman nodded, a single tear streaming down his cheek. "Miss Ryghts... I'm sorry fer bein' so disagreeable with ya, but I really do thank you from the bottom of m'heart. You gave me my life back, and I'll never forget it..."

Now it was Rei who was on the verge of tears. "Y-you're welcome... I'm g-glad I was able t-to do something g-good for once..."

"Indeed, you did a splendid job," Bartholomew spoke as he entered the lobby. "Perhaps now there will be some more clients who will be willing to take a chance with you..."

"Yeah, what's th'story on that, anyway?" Peterman asked in mild confusion. "Did she do somethin' really bad in the past or something?"

"I d-don't like t-to t-talk about it," Rei shook her head. "Let's j-just say I was let off easy b-because I had n-no recollection o-of what h-happened..."

"What, were you drunk or something?"

"More along the lines of 'drunk on evil power', that was forced on her," Bart clarified. "Fortunately the CPUs managed to put a stop to her and bring her back to her senses..."

"THAT bad?!" the fisherman's eyes went wide. "Sheesh, you really did get off easy then..."

"Anyway, I think it's time for you go back to your cell... for the last time," Millhouse stated. "And I'll get on the paperwork for your release as soon as I can..."

"You better," Peterman grumbled. "C'mon, bailiff, let's go..." Said bailiff just nodded as he led the now-innocent man out of the room.

"Still, when you said this was a can of worms, I think you actually might've understated it, Mike," Bart said. "Once it gets out to the public that Clarence Robarts was using a false identity, there's likely going to be a bunch of prisoners clamoring for new trials... they'll argue that the judge ruled in absence of a genuine prosecuting attorney..."

 _"Bah!"_ Millhouse scoffed at this. "Even if my mentor used a false name, he was as genuine a prosecutor as any other! His work was impeccable and unassailable, save this case... if any of the felons he convicted wish to bring their challenges, I'll gladly take them on for his sake... Even if I have to spend the rest of my career doing so!"

"I wish I h-had y-your p-passion, Mr. Millhouse..." Rei sighed.

"Oh, I think you definitely showed some passion in court today," the prosecutor disagreed. "But like you said, just take things one case at a time, and you shouldn't get overwhelmed. Anyway, I should get back to the office now... But even if it did potentially damage my mentor's reputation, I thank you for helping me uncover the truth. And I look forward to seeing where your career takes you from here..."

The former goddess could only squeak as she blushed red. "Th-thank you, Mr. Millhouse...! A-and I hope y-you d-don't get overwhelmed y-yourself, with all th-those p-potential ch-challenges..."

"I appreciate that, Miss Ryghts," the cobalt-haired man nodded with a slight smile. "I'll see you two later, then." With that, he turned and exited the lobby.

"Sh-shall we g-go back to our office, then?" Rei asked her boss.

"Indeed," Bartholomew nodded.

 _April 1, 9:27 AM_

 _Samson & Co. Law Offices_

(It's been a couple days, and it seems like nothing's changed from my perspective,) Rei thought to herself as she filled out legal paperwork. (I didn't even get paid for defending Mr. Peterman... Of course, virtue is it's own reward, but still...)

Just then, the door opened, Bartholomew striding in with a smile on his face, a rolled-up newspaper under one arm. "Rei! You'll never guess what the headlines are saying today..."

"Wh-what's that?" the former villain asked.

Her boss responded by unrolling aforementioned newspaper and holding the front page up to her, the main headline reading: '10-YEAR OLD VERDICT OVERTURNED!' Underneath, a smaller headline read: 'REI RYGHTS EXPOSES CORRUPT LAWYER.' "I think this will help quite a bit in repairing your reputation, don't you think?"

"I-I'm in the p-papers?!" Rei squeaked, blushing. "I-I mean, wow, that's g-great..." Just then, there was a soft knock behind Bartholomew, the man turning, revealing a female NPC.

"E-excuse me..." the woman stuttered nervously. "A-are you Rei Ryghts?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" the lawyer acknowledged, bowing her head. "W-wait... you w-want t-to see ME, not my b-boss?!"

"W-well, I read about your court case in the paper..." She gestured to the newspaper Bartholomew was holding. "S-so I thought, if anyone could save my father, you could! They're all saying he bashed his partner's skull in, but even though he's got a face only my mother and grandmother could love, he's got a heart as big as Lady Vert's chest...! H-he would never...!"

"All right, calm down, young lady," Bartholomew cut in, placing a hand on the NPC's shoulder. "I'm sure Rei would be more than happy to take your case... isn't that right?" He gave a knowing wink to his employee.

"Y-yes...! Yes, of course!" Rei smiled and nodded happily. "W-well, first things first, c-could you start f-from the b-beginning...?"

The NPC nodded as she began to explain what had happened, Bart backing off a short distance, his face beaming with pride...

 _October 31, 7:27 PM_

 _Lowee Basilicom_

 _Reading Room_

Rei opened her eyes as she came back to the present. "S-so, that's how my law c-career really got started... I started g-getting a lot more c-cases after that verdict, a-and eventually g-got a s-steady enough income t-to move into my own apartment... I-it's a little small, and c-cold, but it s-serves me well enough..."

"Well, why do you think I offered you a vacation in Leanbox after you cleared little Nepgear of terrorism charges?" Vert pointed out.

"Yeah, and because of that, you were scouted by Steve Iceberg to play the villain in his Revengers movie," Noire observed. "Which put you in the perfect position to defend K-Sha when she was accused of manslaughter..."

"Fate really does work in mysterious ways, huh?" Uni appended.

"Yeah, well, she's the main character of this fan-fiction series, is it really that big a surprise?" Neptune spoke up. "Anyway..." she turned to face Blanc. "I'm kinda tore up about the court system here, as Rei described it... it really seems way unfair to anyone falsely accused... I mean, only three days for a trial? And the judge decides the verdict? What if the judge himself is corrupt or something? Then the defendant doesn't stand a chance! At least we have jury trials in Planeptune... Not to mention that poor detective always being used as a scapegoat..."

"U-umm, Snooper actually g-got a pay raise f-for his work on th-that case," Rei spoke up. "Th-though it d-didn't last v-very long..."

"...As much as I hate to admit it, you do have a point, Neptune," Blanc sighed. "Maybe I could start using jury trials for some particularly high-profile cases... Though I'd probably have to leave Rei out of them, so there's no appearance of bias..." Looking over at the horned lawyer, she continued, "Though, Rei has already helped a lot by exposing some blatantly corrupt prosecutors in the system... I've already fired several of their sorry asses, and the rest are shaping up as a result. As for Michael Millhouse, I recently had him elevated to Chief Prosecutor for his outstanding work. Clarence Robarts, or rather, Jason Bork certainly taught him well..."

"Well, I guess that's a step in the right direction..." Noire stated. "But how could you let it get that bad in the first place?"

The flat-chested CPU heaved a sigh at this. "Well, you know me, Noire... my preferred solutions to problems is to bash them in with my hammer. But I know that doesn't work in the legal system, so I just let the 'experts' handle that..."

"Only for said 'experts' to take full advantage of their goddess' ignorance..." Vert observed. "At least you're doing something about it now... in Leanbox, we've always presumed the defendant innocent until proven guilty... at least as long as I've been goddess, anyway."

"That's how it should be," Noire agreed.

"I agree," Mina Nishizawa spoke up. "I remember waking up in the hospital after that thief bashed me over the head with that clock-statue... I don't remember what happened, but when they told me Neptune was being charged with assault, I knew immediately that couldn't be right... thank goodness Miss Rei set things to right."

"Yeah, I think anyone with half a brain knew those charges were bogus," Uni put in her two cents. "Just like I knew Nepgear could never use a mech suit to wreak havoc on her own nation... Good thing the jury agreed. Just wish I could've gotten over there sooner..."

"Well, I appreciate you giving me support after the trial was over," Nepgear said.

"Hey Neptune, catch!" Ram's voice was heard, the purple-haired CPU instinctively turning and reaching to catch the object that was tossed to her-

-only to drop it and scream in terror. **"AUUUUGGGHH!** The eggplant! I touched it! Now I'm all infected! I gotta wash myself before my eyes turn purple!"

"OBJECTION!" Your eyes are already purple!" Rei declared.

 _"AUUUUGGHHH!_ It's already started! I gotta wash before I turn into a _purple people eater_ or somethiiiiing!" Neptune ran off, still babbling and screaming.

Meanwhile, Ram was about doubled over with laughter from her successful prank. _"HAHAHAHAHAHA!_ That was so worth it! Oh, the look on her face...!" Her laughter abruptly died as a shadow fell over her, the CPU Candidate looking up to see the stern face of Mina Nishizawa.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Ram... hmm?" the Oracle paused in her scolding as she felt something malevolent behind her... Turning, she and Ram saw Nepgear standing there, a dark aura surrounding her, her eyes showing no pupils or sclera, only a deep purple glow. "M-Miss Nepgear?!"

 **"How dare you..."** the lilac-haired goddess growled in a voice that sounded completely inhuman. **"I only meant to scare my sister... but now you have crossed the line..."**

"Oh c-come on!" Ram babbled in terror. "I-it was just a joke! I-it's not l-like Neptune was actually hurt o-or anything...!"

"Miss Nepgear, there is no need to go overboard here!" Mina insisted nervously. "I humbly request that you leave Ram's discipline to me..."

Nepgear paused for a moment, only to raise up her right arm... **"Gehaburn, come forth."** The goddess-slaying blade materialized in her hand in swirl of dark purple energy...

 _"AHHHHHHH!"_ Ram screamed. "I forgot she was able to get that weapon in Megadimension VII! _Someone help me!"_

"No, Nepgear! Don't do it!" Uni cried as she grabbed her friend around the waist.

 **"GET OFF ME!"** the CPU Candidate roared, emitting a wave of energy as she transformed to HDD, knocking everyone down! Thankfully for Ram, she landed nearby the door, quickly scrambling out of the room as Nepgear pursued.

"Run, Ram! Run for your life!" Rom yelled after them.

"Shouldn't you stop her, Blanc?!" Vert inquired desperately. "Before you lose a sister?!"

"D-do you seriously think I can s-stop her w-when she's like that?!" Blanc retorted, sweating profusely. "Wait! Rei, maybe you could...!"

"M-me?!" The horned woman gasped, before heaving a sigh and invoking her HDD transformation. "Alright, fine. But you _owe_ me one for this, worm!" With that, she flew off... not long after, a _*crash!*_ was heard as Nepgear was launched out of a nearby window, then came the sounds of explosions and weapons clashing.

"Well, that was a pretty scary way to end a Halloween party..." Noire observed. "I just hope Neptune can calm her sister down when she's done cleaning off the eggplant..."

Everyone else in the room either nodded or muttered in agreement...

~*Fin*~

Conquest!Nepgear is truly terrifying... O_O Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!


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